INGALLS 
OF  KANSAS 

A  CHARACTER  STUDY 


BY 


WILLIAM  ELSEY  CONNELLEY 

u 

Author  of  "Ingalls  Memorial  Volume,"  "The  Heckewelder  Narrative," 

"  John  Brown,"  "  Wyandot  Folk-Lore,"  "  Doniphan's 

Expedition,"  etc.,  etc. 


TOPEKA,  KANSAS 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 

MDCCCCIX 


Copyright,  1909, 
By  William  Elsey  Connelley 


PRESS  OF 

THE  HALL  LITHOGRAPHING  COMPANY 

TOPEKA.  KANSAS 

1035 


PREFACE 

A  bolt  of  lightning  is  described  as  of  small 
amperage  (scarcely  any  dimensions),  but  of  ter 
rific  voltage  (force,  power). 

Intellectually  the  late  Senator  John  James 
Ingalls  was  a  dynamo  of  limited  amperage  and 
unlimited  voltage. 

He  could  not  become  a  consuming  fire,  but  he 
could  sometimes  annihilate  the  object  of  his 
wrath  with  a  flash  of  his  genius. 

WILLIAM  ELSEY  CONNELLEY. 

TOPEKA,  KANSAS, 
August  30,  1909. 


974559 


DIGEST 

In  my  former  volume  on  the  late  Senator 
Ingalls  I  attempted  little  beyond  the  collection 
and  preservation  of  material.  In  character- 
analysis  such  a  work  must  of  necessity  be  unsat 
isfactory.  My  object  is  to  supply  that  deficiency. 
Here  I  present  brief  studies  of  Senator  Ingalls — 

In  his  Home  life — 

In  his  attitude  towards  Religion — 

In  his  achievements  in  Literature,  Oratory, 
Politics. 

They  make  up  the  sum  of  what  he  did  in  this 
life.  Knowledge  of  him  in  these  relations  will 
reveal  traits  sufficient  for  the  basis  of  an  esti 
mate  of  his  powers  and  his  character.* 

*The  articles  from  which  quotations  are  made  are  to  be  found  en 
tire  in  my  first  volume— published  by  the  Franklin  Hudson  Publishing 
Company,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 


SYNTAXIS 

I.     Kansas  and  the  Coming  of  Ingalls. 

II.     Home  Life— 

a.  Mrs.  Ingalls. 

III.  Home  Life— 

a.  His  Children. 

IV.  Religion. 
V.     Literature. 

VI.    Politics. 
VII.     Miscellany. 


KANSAS  AND  THE  COMING  OF 
INGALLS 


Those  who  were  so  many  years  acquainted  with 
the  late  Senator  Ingalls  supposed  ^the^lmew: -hn^ 
They  met  him  to  discuss  political  situations,  saw 
him  before  throngs  and  audiences,  were  charmed 
with  his  perfect  rhetoric  and  matchless  sentences, 
met  him  on  trains  and  at  hotels,  wrote  him  let 
ters  and  received  replies,  but  not  a  single  one  of 
them  knew  him.  They  walked  to  and  fro  with 
him,  and,  wandering  up  and  down  in  the  earth, 
turned  night  into  busy  day  that  he  might  not  be 
cast  from  his  brilliant  course.  And  they  wept 
with  him  when  he  fell  never  to  rise  again.  Even 
then  they  did  not  know  him. 

It  was  the  good  fortune  of  many  to  sit  in  car 
or  lobby  under  the  spell  of  his  inimitable  mono- 
drama  until,  pointing  to  the  east,  he  said, 

"Night's  candles  are  burnt  out,  and  jocund  day 
Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain  tops". 

Yet  they  knew  him  not. 

Senator  Ingalls  came  early  to  Kansas.  Topeka 
was  then  a  frontier  village  of  cottonwood  cabins 

3 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

^ 

lost  in  prairie  grass  and  hazel  brush.  There  was 
not  a  mile  of  railroad  between  Missouri  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  long  after  his  rise  to  emi 
nence  thfc  buffalo  stalled  trains  on  the  old  Kansas 
Pacific.  The  domain  of  the  wild  denizens  of  the 
Plains:  Extended  from  the  Wakarusa  into  those 
endless  wastes  beyond  the  head  waters  of  the 
Republican  and  the  Smoky  Hill.  The  commerce 
of  the  prairies  still  rolled  over  the  Old  Santa  Fe 
Trail  in  those  ships  of  the  desert  fashioned  after 
the  design  of  the  famous  Conestoga.  He  saw  the 
wilds  subdued, —  the  solitude,  filled  with  homes 
and  cities,  the  seat  of  an  intelligent  constituency 
that  met  him  with  enthusiastic  acclaim  in  the 
zenith  of  his  course,  with  not  a  citizen  of  them 
all  who  knew  him. 

Some  knew  him  better  than  others,  of  course, 
and  some  of  his  friends  of  longest  standing  be 
lieved  they  knew  him  through  and  through.  All 
was  not  given,  however,  to  the  most  devoted. 
There  were  chambers  of  soul  to  which  none  were 
admitted.  But  this  was  not  by  design.  It  might 
be  said  that  he  was  unconscious  of  it  —  that  he 
sometimes  wondered  why  he  was  misunderstood. 

The    cause   was  mainly  temperamental  —  con- 

4 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

ventional  only  by  incident.  To  some  he  gave 
more  than  to  others.  To  all  he  gave  as  much  as 
in  him  lay.  To  one  some  depth  of  soul  became 
visible.  To  another  some  flash  of  genius  revealed 
a  different  attribute. 

Calvinism  found  a  congenial  soil  in  New  Eng 
land.  Its  harsh  and  intolerant  aspects  were  in 
tensified  by  the  stern  and  bleak  features  of  that 
rock-bound  land.  The  nature  of  every  man  is 
deep-rooted  in  the  soil  of  his  nativity.  The  back 
ground  of  the  life  of  Senator  Ingalls  was  the 
granite  hills  of  New  England  perceived  through 
Puritanism  of  the  severest  sort.  The  mild  cli 
mate,  the  generous  soil,  the  broad  expanse,  the 
immense  rivers,  and  the  gorgeous  autumns  of  the 
Great  Plains  softened  the  austerity  and  set  aflame 
the  imagination  of  this  scion  of  the  Puritans. 

Kansas  attracted  Ingalls.  The  very  word  en 
grossed  the  Nation's  attention.  It  became  the 
talisman  of  the  champions  of  human  liberty  and 
that  noble  band  of  Americans  who  determined  to 
build  a  state  where  slavery  should  never  set  foot. 
It  poised  as  a  nemesis  above  those  who  sought 
to  rivet  perpetual  shackles  on  a  portion  of  man 
kind.  What  manner  of  land  can  it  be  1 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

A  noble  expanse  of  endless  undulations  rising 
and  falling  like  the  mighty  swells  of  the  rolling 
ocean.  Here,  the  far-off  rim  of  the  world  where 
the  purple  mist,  like  an  amethyst  crown,  presses 
gently  down  upon  the  brow  of  the  lovely  land 
scape.  There,  where  the  sun  falls  like  a  golden 
globe, 

"From  out  the  rich  autumnal  west 
There    creeps    a    misty,    pearly    rest, 

As   through   an  atmosphere  of  dreams, 

A    rich    September    sunset    streams; 
Thy  purple  sheen, 
Through    prairies    green 
From  out  the  burning  west  is  seen". 

Valleys  adown  which  wind  the  silvery  streams, 
marked  by  the  dark-green  foliage  of  trees,  lying 
like  broad  ribbons  flung  carelessly  athwart  a 
tinted  carpet  aflame  with  wild  flowers.  Herds  of 
lowing  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills.  Troops  of 
horses  for  the  armies  of  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Fields  of  alfalfa  dew-gemmed  and  glit 
tering  in  the  morning  sun.  Golden  harvests  so 
ample  that  a  world  may  have  bread.  Walls  of 
corn  —  unending  walls  of  corn.  Cities  where 
commerce  moves  with  busy  feet,  and  iron  ways 
along  which  pour  the  products  of  a  prosperous 

6 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

and  happy  people.  The  gentle  rise  of  rolling  hills 
where  come  the  generations  of  children  to  school. 
And  overhead  and  above  all,  away  up  and  up, 
the  broad  reaches  of  iridescent  skies.  There 
come,  too,  the  lazy  days  when 

"The  cottonwoods  that  fringe 

The   streamlets  take  the  tinge; 
Through   opal   haze   the   sumach   bush   is  burning; 

The    lazy    zephyrs    lisp, 

Through   cornfields   dry   and   crisp, 
Their  fond  regrets  for  days  no  more  returning". 

THAT  is  Kansas. 

Koving  bands  of  Indians.  Wigwam  villages 
where  women  screamed  to  the  chorus  of  wolfish 
dogs.  Herds  of  buffalo  that  surged  up  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  like  the  waves  of  the  restless 
sea.  Prairie-dog  towns  marking  the  lonely  emi 
nence.  Clouds  of  sand-hill  cranes  drifting  gro 
tesquely  overhead.  The  prairie  chicken  rising 
nervously  with  whirring  wings  from  the  brown 
grass.  The  sluggish  fish  in  the  soil-stained 
streams.  The  earth  and  all  that  live  thereon 
where  the  winds  were  fierce  and  the  heavens 
brass.  Brown  tangled  grasses  of  never-tilled 
lands.  Shallow  streams  wandering  aimlessly  until 
they  frayed  out  and  disappeared  in  thirsty  sands. 

7 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

Gnarled  shrubs  twisted  awry  by  never-ceasing 
winds.  Kanks  of  swaying  cottonwoods  with 
bending  willows  at  their  feet.  Sunrise  and  sun 
set,  but  no  seed-time  and  never  a  harvest.  Burn 
ing  siroccos,  consuming  drouth,  biting  blizzard 
decade  after  decade,  age  after  age,  and  no  change. 

That  WAS  Kansas. 

There  beyond  the  Mississippi  itflay,  its  western 
confines  indefinitely  set  by  the  imperceptible  rise 
which  reaches  up  to  the  snowy  ranges  of  rock- 
ribbed  mountains.  The  vast  basins  of  great  trib 
utaries  of  the  Missouri  lay  to  the  north;  and  the 
branches  of  the  lower  Mississippi  stretched  away 
to  the  south.  Inaccessible  from  the  west  and  be 
yond  reach  of  the  east,  it  was  set  aside  for  the 
use  of  the  Indian  by  those  who  awaited  a  time 
opportune  for  the  effort  to  plant  there  the  in 
stitution  of  slavery.  And  thus  it  spread  its  fer 
tile  and  primitive  limits  outside  the  pale  of  civil 
ization  while  history  was  recording  pages  of 
events. 

It  had  no  large  rivers,  no  high  mountains,  no 
lakes,  no  dense  forests,  no  fertile  meadows,  ap 
parently  no  natural  wealth.  Kansas  was  a  wild 
desert  where  General  Pike  believed  future  gen- 

8 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

erations  might  perhaps  raise  goats.  But  it  was 
a  desert  with  the  possibilities  of  redemption. 

Then 

"Came  the  restless  Coronado 
To    the    open    Kansas    plain, 
With   his    Knights    from   sunny    Spain". 

And  like  the  other  Spaniards  of  his  day,  he  could 

"Die  for   glory  or   for  gold — 
But  not  make  a  desert  quicken". 

The  Spaniard  could  plant  a  flag  but  not  an  em 
pire  in  North  America.  And  so  he  passed. 

Then  came  the  volatile  and  ever  restless 
Frenchman.  To  find  the  "West  he  traversed  Can 
ada.  Far  and  wide  journeyed  the  stern  old  Jesu 
its.  They  explored  the  dark  and  gloomy  forest 
and  followed  tiny  streams  until  they  became  "the 
mother  of  floods,  the  father  of  waters".  Wander 
ing  through  the  melancholy  woods  in  which  were 
the  villages  of  the  Hurons,  they  crossed  the 
mighty  rivers  to  the  land  of  the  Dakotahs  and 
the  Osages.  But  they  never  took  root  in  Kansas. 
And,  so,  they  passed. 

The  Mississippi  remained  the  western  bound 
ary  of  our  country  until 

"The  blue-eyed  Saxon  race 
Came  and  bade  the  desert  waken". 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

^ 

But  before  this  hour  of  destiny  struck  the  nine 
teenth  century  was  in  swaddling  clothes.  From 
a  compact  habitat  along  the  Atlantic  these  Saxons 
had  battled  with  the  Frenchman  on  the  north,  the 
Spaniard  on  the  south,  and  with  savages  up  to 
and  beyond  the  Alleghenies.  They  had  rebelled 
against  the  mother-country  and  won  for  them 
selves  and  their  children  liberty  and  self-control. 
One  of  the  historic  business-ventures  of  this  en 
terprising  people  was  the  purchase  of  Louisiana. 
Along  with  many  other  things  came  Kansas. 
After  preliminary  processes  it  was  defined  —  had 
bounds  set  for  it.  Then  the  two  ideas  of  our 
national  progress  came  with  followers  to  contend 
for  supremacy,  which,  once  attained  in  Kansas, 
was  to  carry  with  it  mastery  of  the  Nation.  With 
those  who  came  to  build  the  temple  of  liberty 
came  Ingalls. 

Those  who  break  the  wilderness  are  always 
the  stalwart  and  the  brave — the  courageous — 
men  with  faith,  foresight,  fortitude.  The  men 
and  women  who  came  to  settle  and  redeem  Kan 
sas  were  themselves  descendants  of  pioneers  — 
''Strong  builders  of  empire". 

On  the  4th  day  of  October,  1858,  John  J.  Ingalls 

10 


KANSAS   AND    INGALLS 

arrived  at  Simmer  on  the  steamboat  "Duncan  S. 
Carter".  He  came,  it  seems,  in  search  of  this 
city,  which  had  been  "depicted  in  a  chromatic 
triumph  of  lithographed  mendacity",  and  at  the 
instance  of  "the  loquacious  embellishments  of  a 
lively  adventurer  who  has  been  laying  out  town- 
sites  and  staking  off  corner  lots  for  some  years 
past  in  tophet". 

Sumner  was  the  Free-State  rival  of  pro-slavery 
Atchison.  Albert  D.  Richardson,  later  the  author 
of  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  was  a  resident  of 
the  town  when  Ingalls  arrived.  The  town  was 
a  few  miles  below  the  pro-slavery  metropolis,  and 
it  extended  to  and  beyond  a  bluff  so  steep  and 
high  that  the  main  street  was  said  to  be  "ver 
tical". 

This  town  was  founded  by  John  P.  Wheeler,  a 
surveyor  described  as  "a  red-headed,  blue-eyed, 
consumptive,  slim,  freckled  enthusiast  from  Mass 
achusetts".  He  also  founded  the  town  of  Hia 
watha.  He  named  his  river  town  not  for  Charles 
Sumner,  as  one  would  be  likely  to  believe,  but 
for  George  Sumner  (brother),  who  was  one  of 
the  proprietors  of  the  place.  Wheeler  was  an 
abolitionist,  and  his  town  was  conceived  in  the 

11 


KANSAS   AND   INGALLS 

^ 

same  spirit  that  gave  the  Territory  old  Quindaro. 
When  the  Civil  War  began  the  pro-slavery 
people  generally  left  Kansas  or  changed  political 
faith.  Atchison  had  the  better  location,  and  the 
people  of  Sumner  gradually  went  there  to  live. 
In  June,  1860,  a  tornado  blew  down  most  of  the 
houses  left  in  Sumner,  and  from  this  catastrophe 
its  extinction  is  dated.  Jonathan  G.  Lang  (the 
original  of  "Shang"  in  "Catfish  Aristocracy") 
continued  to  live  there  on  a  tract  of  land  which 
belonged  to  Ingalls,  and  was,  in  jest,  called  "the 
mayor  of  Sumner".  Ingalls  followed  the  other 
inhabitants  of  the  defunct  city  of  "Great  Expec 
tations"  to  Atchison. 


12 


HOME  LIFE 

MRS.   INGALLS 


HOME   LIFE 

MRS.   INGALLS 
I. 

Of  domestic  felicity  an  undue  portion  fell  to 
Ingalls.  In  combat  with  men  and  the  struggle 
to  maintain  himself  in  the  world  he  was  bold, 
diffident,  imperious.  In  his  home  he  was  not  so, 
although  there  his  bearing  was  that  of  dignity. 

His  ideal  of  home  was  a  place  of  "sweet  de 
lights"  whence  man  "goes  forth,  invigorated  for 
the  struggle  of  life".  Man  can  not  make  a  home. 
He  can  contribute  something  towards  it.  With 
due  deference  to  modern  movements  to  bring 
women  into  public  life  —  into  political  life  —  it 
must  be  said  that  a  wise  providence  fixed  bounds 
and  limitations  beyond  which  she  can  not  prop 
erly  go.  And  this  was  the  judgment  of  Ingalls. 
The  platform,  the  forum,  the  fierce  competition 
of  market  and  mart,  the  rough  grapple  at  the 
polls  —  these  are  for  men. 

Only  woman  can  make  a  home.  That  is  her 
domain.  There  she  is  supreme.  There  is  the 

15 


HOME    LIFE 

place  of  "sweet  delights"  where  man  renews  his 
strength,  conceives  his  ideals,  resolves  upon  pat 
riotism,  gains  aggressive  vigor  for  the  battles  of 
life.  All  social  and  political  progress  must  ema 
nate  from  the  good  home.  Such  can  woman  (not 
every  woman)  create  and  maintain. 

Ingalls  assumed  the  bonds  of  matrimony  with 
deliberation.  He  was  nearly  thirty-two.  The 
effervescent  enthusiasm  of  youth  and  immature 
manhood  had  burned  itself  away.  The  day 
wherein  he  might  have  flung  himself  at  the  feet 
of  a  giggling  damsel  in  imploring  posture  had 
happily  passed,  and  his  proposal  of  marriage  was 
by  formal,  self-respecting,  but  sincere  and  candid 
written  instrument.  The  recipient  of  this  remark 
able  hymeneal  overture  was  Miss  Anna  Louisa 
Chesebrough,  like  himself,  a  resident  of  Atchison, 
and  of  New  England  ancestry.  She  was  immedi 
ately  descended  from  a  line  of  New  York 
merchants  and  importers.  The  wedding  was  27 
September,  1865. 

II. 

To  understand  the  home-life  of  Ingalls  some 
thing  must  be  known  of  the  temperamental  ten- 

16 


HOME   LIFE 

dencies  of  himself  and  wife.  She  was  stirring, 
aggressive,  persistent,  ambitious.  She  was  san 
guine,  mentally  strong,  slow  to  abandon  a  pur 
pose,  tactful,  diplomatic.  He  was  conscious  of 
his  ability,  but  was  the  most  indolent  of  men. 
He  was  well-nigh  devoid  of  ambition,  the  little 
he  had  aspiring  to  nothing  beyond  a  sufficient 
maintenance, —  the  object  of  all  his  early  political 
activity  in  Kansas.  He  was  impractical,  but  not 
visionary,  and  all  his  early  efforts,  successful  or 
not,  were  followed  by  periods  of  inactivity,  tor 
por,  apathy.  While  the  lessee  of  a  newspaper 
in  Atchison  one  of  his  diversions  was  the  study 
of  the  specimen-books  issued  by  type-foundries. 
These  he  would  pore  over  by  the  hour,  seemingly 
wholly  engrossed  with  their  jingling  paragraphs. 
It  was  the  ambition  of  Mrs.  Ingalls  that  her 
husband  should  become  noted  as  an  orator.  To 
this  one  purpose  she  bent  every  circumstance. 
By  the  Eepublican  convention  at  Lawrence  soon 
after  his  marriage,  Ingalls  was  offered  a  nomina 
tion  for  Representative  in  Congress.  He  refused 
the  place  at  the  instance  of  his  wife.  She  did  not 
believe  the  House  held  adequate  opportunity  for 
the  development  of  his  latent  powers.  When  to 

17 


HOME    LIFE 

others  there  appeared  little  possibility  that  he 
could  ever  attain  the  place  in  a  state  having  the 
fierce  and  warring  factions  existing  in  Kansas, 
Mrs.  Ingalls  set  her  heart  on  the  Senatorship  for 
her  husband  and  refused  to  consider  anything 
else.  That  he  attained  that  exalted  place  was 
due  to  her  judgment  and  discretion,  by  which  he 
was  ever  guided  and  controlled.  He  reposed  per 
fect  faith  in  her  ability  and  rarely  acted  outside 
of  her  direction.  She  did  not  so  much  care  for 
the  reputation  he  might  make  as  a  statesman, 
which  accounts  for  the  absence  of  great  effort  in 
that  direction.  Her  ideal  was  that  he  become 
the  foremost  orator  of  the  Nation. 

III. 

So  much  has  been  said  in  order  to  show  the 
complete  acquiescence  of  Ingalls  to  the  ascend 
ency  voluntarily  accorded  his  wife.  For,  as  his 
career  was  political,  subserviency  there  carried 
to  all  inferior  matters.  It  had  nothing  of  the 
nature  of  the  compelling  mastery  of  a  superior 
mind,  but  was  founded  in  unlimited  confidence, 
complete  devotion  to  his  wife.  She  contributed 
nothing  to  his  intellect.  The  funeral  of  Senator 

18 


HOME    LIFE 

Sumner  moved  him  to  a  sense  of  his  loneliness  in 
her  absence,  and  he  wrote : 

How  full  of  mournful  tragedies,  of  incomplete 
ness,  of  fragmentary  ambitions  and  successes  this 
existence  is!  And  yet  how  sweet  and  dear  it  is 
made  by  love.  That  alone  never  fails  to  satisfy 
and  fill  the  soul.  "Wealth  satiates,  and  ambition 
ceases  to  allure:  we  weary  of  eating  and  drink 
ing,  of  going  up  and  down  the  earth,  of  looking 
at  its  mountains  and  seas,  at  the  sky  that  arches 
it,  of  the  moon  and  stars  that  shine  upon  it,  but 
never  of  the  soul  that  we  love  and  that  loves  us, 
of  the  face  that  watches  for  us  and  grows  brighter 
when  we  come.  .  .  .  You  seem  so  precious 
and  delightful  to  me,  that  I  can  hardly  restrain 
my  impatience  to  be  with  you  and  feel  at  rest. 

In  sending  her  some  violets  from  the  mass  of 
flowers  sent  to  the  Senate  Chamber  for  the  serv 
ices  in  honor  of  Senator  Sumner  held  there,  he 
wrote : 

I  woke  at  half  past  two  this  morning  after  bad 
dreams,  feverish  and  restless,  and  longing  for  you 
and  for  Baby  Constance,  who  has  grown  so  ten 
derly  in  my  heart.  Much  of  our  united  lives 
came  back  to  me,  incidents  forgotten,  songs  you 
sung  to  Ruth  in  winter  midnights  in  the  little 
back  room  up-stairs  so  long  ago;  looks,  caresses; 
painful,  sad  regrets  for  the  injuries  inflicted  upon 

19 


HOME   LIFE 

your  love  by  my  indifference  and  coldness  and 
unkindness ;  wonder  that  your  love  had  not  ebbed 
away  from  me  and  left  me  stranded  in  misery 
forever;  hopes  that  we  might  not  either  be  left 
long  upon  this  desolate  earth  to  mourn  the  other's 
loss.  Oh,  my  darling!  my  heart  cries  out  for 
you  and  will  not  be  comforted.  You  must  never 
forsake  me,  here  or  hereafter.  If  you  go  before 
me  to  the  undiscovered  country,  guard  me,  and 
wait  for  me.  If  I  precede  you,  search  for  me  till 
you  find  me,  with  entreaties  and  importunities 
that  will  permit  no  denial,  but  will  rescue  me, 
though  ages  intervene,  from  the  profoundest 
abyss. 

Ingalls  wrote  his  wife  full  descriptions  of  his 
journeys,  detailing  the  most  minute  and  unim 
portant  incidents.  It  gave  him  pleasure  to  be 
intrusted  with  shopping  commissions,  his  dis 
criminating  taste  enabling  him  to  execute  them 
to  her  satisfaction.  An  example  of  these  traits 
is  shown  in  the  following  letter: 

Gov.  Harvey  met  me  at  the  depot,  wanting  to 
see  me  on  some  matters  of  business,  and  osten 
sibly  bound  to  visit  some  friends  in  "Trenton, 
Mo.",  but  on  my  suggestion  that  he  had  better 
go  to  Washington,  he  said  he  would  deliberate 
till  we  reached  Kansas  City,  where  he  informed 
me  he  had  concluded  to  go.  I  have  no  doubt  he 

20 


HOME   LIFE 

intended  to  go  all  the  time,  and  tkat  he  started 
out  with  that  purpose,  but  thought  he  would 
conceal  it  from  me  and  make  it  appear  like  an 
extemporaneous  hasty  movement  made  on  my 
suggestion.  I  did  not  attempt  to  undeceive  him. 
Nothing  keeps  a  man  so  well  satisfied  with  him 
self  as  the  belief  that  all  his  little  games  suc 
ceed  without  being  detected  by  anyone.  He  went 
down  on  the  "North  Missouri",  while  we  con 
tinued  on  the  Missouri  Pacific,  reaching  St.  Louis 
without  adventure  Thursday  morning.  Tough 
was  with  me,  and  after  breakfast  at  the  "Plant 
ers"  we  crossed  the  river  in  the  early  sunrise 
and  were  soon  rolling  over  the  prairies  of  Illinois 
at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  miles  per  hour.  The 
day  was  cold  and  cloudy  with  occasional  showers. 
The  season  is  fully  as  backward  through  the 
whole  country  as  in  Kansas.  Many  fields  were 
unploughed,  and  in  others  the  grain  was  yellow, 
sparse  and  starved,  as  though  it  had  passed  a 
troublesome  winter.  The  trees  had  hardly  bud 
ded,  and  the  forest  looked  as  gloomy  and  black 
as  in  January.  Thursday  night  at  nine  we  were 
in  Cincinnati.  The  train  did  not  move  till  11 :10, 
and  we  walked  up  to  the  new  "Grand  Hotel", 
and  looked  through  its  marble  corridors.  A  sud 
den  shower  drove  me  to  the  depot,  and  as  soon 
as  the  sleeper  was  on  the  track,  I  went  to  bed 
and  slept  well  till  we  reached  Parkersburg  the 

21 


HOME    LIFE 

next  morning.  The  breakfast  there  was  abundant, 
but  cold,  nothing  being  eatable  but  the  stewed 
oysters,  of  which  I  ate  two  dishes.  The  morning 
was  cold  and  raw,  and  the  porter  gave  me  some 
pillows  and  a  red  blanket  under  which  I  slept  till 
we  reached  Grafton,  where  we  changed  into  a 
"parlor  car"  with  revolving  arm-chairs  and  plate- 
glass  windows  which  afforded  us  a  fine  view  of 
the  romantic  scenery  through  which  we  ascended 
and  descended  till  night  dropped  her  curtain 
upon  the  landscape  at  Harper's  Ferry. 

Mrs.  Fairchild  of  Leavenworth  was  on  the  train, 
to  meet  her  husband  at  Philadelphia,  and  through 
her  I  made  acquaintance  with  quite  a  party  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen  whose  peculiarities  were 
more  or  less  entertaining.  Notable  among  them 
was  a  lady  from  Derby,  Connecticut,  whose  af 
fectations,  airs  and  gestures,  were  as  good  as  a 
play.  She  evidently  desired  to  produce  upon  me 
the  impression  that  she  was  learned  in  all  arts 
and  familiar  with  the  great  of  all  lands.  Every 
lady  of  her  acquaintance  was  superb,  and  every 
gentleman  was  elegant  and  courteous  beyond  de 
scription.  She  took  a  seat  back  of  me  while  I 
was  reading  and  made  several  attempts  to  open 
conversation  by  casual  remarks  about  the  scenery, 
to  which  I  responded  in  monosyllables,  but  at 
last,  having  finished  the  "Popular  Science  Month 
ly"  and  got  enough  of  Tennyson,  I  submitted  to 

22 


HOME    LIFE 

the  inevitable  by  a  series  of  questions  that  en 
abled  her  to  tell  me  what  she  was  burning  to 
disclose  in  regard  to  her  wealth,  associations, 
grand  acquaintances,  &c.,  to  each  revelation  of 
which  I  accorded  an  undisguised  tribute  of  re 
spect.  As  we  neared  our  journey's  end  I  told 
her  how  much  gratified  I  was  by  the  fortunate 
accident  of  our  acquaintance,  how  much  I  had 
profited  by  her  ideas  and  what  an  honor  I  es 
teemed  it  to  know  her,  whereupon  she  brought 
her  husband  round  and  introduced  him,  and  he 
gave  me  a  cordial  invitation  to  visit  Derby  where 
his  horses  and  carriages  were  at  my  disposal  and 
his  house  should  be  my  inn.  I  don't  think  I  shall 
visit  Derby  this  month. 

"We  rode  to  "Willard's  in  a  street  car,  and  I  told 
the  clerk  if  he  could  give  me  a  well-lighted,  sun 
ny,  commodious  apartment  for  a  few  days  I  would 
stay  with  him,  but  otherwise  I  would  go  else 
where.  He  looked  at  the  register,  rattled  round 
the  key-rack,  consulted  three  or  four  volumes 
and  pulled  his  mustache  as  though  it  was  a  fear 
ful  problem  to  solve,  and  finally  gave  me  a  pri 
vate  parlor,  and  bed-room  with  bath,  on  the  east 
front,  second  floor.  There  are  probably  fifty 
guests  at  the  house,  with  accommodations  for  five 
hundred,  so  you  see  how  necessary  it  was  to  be 
deliberate  and  profound  in  his  cogitations.  I  ad 
mire  hotel  clerks.  If  I  had  time,  I  would  write 

23 


HOME    LIFE 

^| 

an  essay  on  the  subject,  but  the  Indian  problem, 
the  Louisiana  questions,  and  the  coming  Presiden 
tial  campaign  require  attention  first. 

Yesterday  (Saturday)  was  pleasant  and  ver 
nal.  The  city  does  not  yet  wear  its  summer 
garb.  Spring  is  backward.  The  leaves  are  about 
half  out.  The  grounds  have  not  yet  been  cleaned 
much,  and  the  general  aspect  is  wintry.  I  was 
at  the  Departments  all  day;  fixed  up  some  post- 
office  matters :  got  several  land-sales  postponed : 
had  several  appointments  made  0.  K.  There  is  a 
great  row  about  the  Indian  contract  for  supplies 
this  year,  and  some  Kansas  men  think  they  have 
been  badly  treated,  and  I  must  help  them  if  pos 
sible.  The  Commissioner  is  going  to  New  York 
to  see  whether  it  can  be  arranged  and  I  shall  wait 
till  his  return.  I  hope  to  leave  Monday  or  Wed 
nesday  but  may  be  detained  later.  I  have  not 
yet  seen  the  Att'y  Gen'l  in  relation  to  Tough's 
case,  but  shall  do  so  to-morrow.  Harvey  is  here 
at  the  Ebbitt  House.  I  met  Gen.  Boughton  at  the 
" Holly  Free  Lunch"  yesterday  where  I  was  regal 
ing  myself  with  a  bowl  of  oatmeal  and  milk,  and 
he  invited  me  to  dine  with  them  at  four  this  P.  M., 
which  I  agreed  to  do.  Shad  are  plentiful,  and  so 
is  asparagus,  but  in  other  respects  the  markets 
and  tables  are  like  winter.  Breakfast  begins 
with  oranges  au  naturel.  Last  night  I  went  to 
the  theater  and  was  sorry  I  forgot  to  borrow  your 

24 


HOME    LIFE 

opera  glass,  as  the  "peerless  M'lle.  Morlacchi" 
danced  very  much  like  the  oranges  above  named, 
in  the  spectacular  drama  of  the  "French  Spy". 

I  will  not  forget  your  hat  and  the  dresses  nor 
the  pap  spoon.  You  are  the  dearest  of  wives, 
the  best  of  mothers,  as  well  as  one  of  the  noblest 
of  your  sex,  and  I  only  regret  that  I  cannot  do 
more  for  you,  and  be  more  to  you  than  I  am. 
You  have  the  entire  admiration,  confidence  and 
esteem,  and  the  undivided  love  of  your 

Unworthy  but  affectionate  Husband. 

IV. 

Ingalls  saw  everything.  Little  that  he  saw  es 
caped  record  in  his  letters  to  his  wife  and  chil 
dren.  The  old  Episcopal  church-building  at 
Alexandria  has  had  many  visitors.  Few  of  them 
ever  wrote  a  better  description  of  it  than  Ingalls 
sent  his  wife: 

Mr.  Blackford  and  I  have  to-day  been  to  Alex 
andria  to  the  old  church  formerly  attended  by 
Gen.  Washington.  We  took  the  F  Street  cars  to 
the  ferry  at  the  foot  of  Ninth,  and  started  at  ten. 
A  brisk  wind  was  blowing  from  the  north,  but 
the  day  was  otherwise  pleasant.  The  little  voy 
age  of  six  miles  was  accomplished  in  about  half 
an  hour,  and  we  were  moored  at  the  crazy  old 


HOME    LIFE 

dock  of  what  was  once  an  important  commercial 
metropolis.  It  is  now  a  queer  old  decayed,  dilap 
idated  town  with  narrow,  steep  and  ungraded 
streets  that  are  a  mixture  of  irregular  cobble 
stones  and  the  nastiest  kind  of  black  mud.  All 
the  sewage  of  the  city  is  discharged  over  the 
sidewalks  into  the  gutters,  and  the  pedestrian  is 
continually  stepping  over  picturesque  little  rivu 
lets  of  dishwater,  soapsuds,  and  viler  fluids,  mixed 
with  potato  parings,  coffee  grounds  and  cabbage 
leaves  that  trickle  over  the  uneven  brick  of  the 
pavement  and  twinkle  fragrantly  in  pools  and 
puddles  in  the  sun  of  the  Grand  old  Common 
wealth  whose  proud  boast  is  that  it  is  the  mother 
of  states  and  statesmen.  Gen.  Stringfellow  once 
told  me  he  had  some  relatives  there,  but  I  had 
forgotten  their  names,  or  I  would  have  called 
upon  them. 

The  church  is  almost  half  a  mile  from  the 
river  and  fronts  west.  It  is  built  of  rough  red 
brick  that  were  brought  from  England,  and  ought 
to  be  immediately  taken  back  to  the  kiln  they 
came  from.  It  is  about  sixty  feet  long  by  forty 
wide,  with  a  hipped  roof,  and  a  double  tier  of 
small-paned,  heavy-sashed  windows  that  are 
enough  to  give  permanent  obliquity  of  vision  to 
any  man  who  looks  through  them.  The  bell- 
tower  is  low,  inartistic  and  quaint,  with  a  round 
top.  On  one  side  is  a  wooden  projection  covering 

26 


HOME    LIFE 

the  entrance  to  the  church  and  the  galleries.  It 
stands  in  a  small  plat  of  ground,  perhaps  half  an 
acre,  planted  with  scraggly  old  trees  that  cast 
their  weird  shadows  upon  the  ancient  graves 
that  have  sunk  to  a  level  with  the  rich  grass  that 
covers  them.  It  seemed  strange  to  think  that 
those  forgotten  sepulchres  had  once  been  newly 
opened,  with  the  fresh  earth  heaped  by  their 
side,  and  that  weeping,  heart-broken  mourners 
had  seen  their  friends  lowered  into  their  silent 
depths,  and  that  now  the  loving  and  the  loved, 
the  mourners  and  the  lost,  were  wrapped  in  a 
common  oblivion. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  church  is  a  glorious 
growth  of  ivy  almost  like  a  tree,  densely  matted 
to  the  brick-work,  and  covering  the  roof  and  wall 
with  its  sturdy,  defiant  and  luxurious  verdure.  I 
send  you  a  leaf  that  I  plucked  close  by  the 
window  that  looks  in  upon  "Washington's  pew. 

Upon  entering,  a  very  pleasant  lady  asked  if 
we  were  looking  for  seats,  and  showed  us  to  a 
side  pew  to  the  right  of  the  rector,  where  we  had 
a  fine  view  of  the  congregation.  It  is  a  plain 
room,  with  galleries  on  three  sides,  with  a  row 
of  wooden  pillars  beneath,  which,  with  the  rest 
of  the  wood-work,  are  grained.  The  pews  are 
high  and  have  solid  doors  with  buttons.  The 
walls  are  whitewashed,  and  the  cushions  are 
mostly  red,  faded  and  shabby.  The  chancel  is 

27 

-3 


HOME    LIFf 

raised  two  feet  and  projects  into  the  room  like 
a  platform.  It  has  a  wooden  fence  around  it. 
and  the  furniture,  desks  and  chairs  are  modern 
walnut.  The  choir  consisted  mostly  of  boys  who 
were  gathered  round  the  organ  that  stands  in  the 
gallery  fronting  the  preacher.  The  singing  was 
glorious.  The  audience  was  a  cheap-looking  col 
lection  of  low-browed,  poorly  dressed  commoners 
with  some  notable  exceptions.  Many  of  the  girls 
were  of  the  Virginia  Herndon  type,  with  scollops 
and  "spit  curls"  plastered  along  their  brows 
and  temples,  in  regular  waves  that  are  supposed 
to  be  so  bewitching.  The  rector  is  young,  dark, 
smooth-shaven,  high-toned,  with  a  dirty  surplice. 
He  read  and  preached  from  Isaiah — "The  ox 
knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib, 
-but  Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth 
not  consider." 

Nearly  opposite  me  was  a  lady  who  looked 
so  strikingly  like  you  that  my  heart  almost 
stopped  as  I  looked  at  her,  and  thought  that 
perhaps  you  had  unexpectedly  come  on  and  fol 
lowed  me  in  my  wanderings.  She  was  about  your 
height  and  stature  and  complexion,  though  she 
wore  a  dotted  veil  which  makes  all  women  look 
more  or  less  alike.  She  had  the  same  low  broad 
forehead,  the  same  dark  intense  look  from  the 
eyes,  and  that  indescribable  something  that  we 
call  "resemblance",  and  more  striking  than  all 

28 


HOME    LIFE 

she  carried  her  head  one  side  higher  than  the 
other,  as  you  always  do  when  sitting  still.  I 
forgot  to  look  for  her  when  the  services  closed, 
so  that  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  a  fancy 
evoked  by  distance,  or  not. 

The  seat  that  Washington  used  to  occupy  was 
pointed  out  to  me,  and  the  ghost  of  the  old 
warrior  seemed  to  fill  the  room  with  its  great 
presence,  as  I  pictured  him  moving  down  the 
aisle  in  the  costume  of  a  century  ago,  with  fat 
old  Martha,  his  wife,  and  a  dozen  relatives  and 
dependents,  besides  those  who  waited  with  the 
chariot  outside. 

I  do  not  know  when  I  have  enjoyed  a  day 
so  much.  The  service  really  seemed  good  and 
pleasant,  and  I  would  like  to  join  a  church  if  it 
were  always  so  satisfactory  as  to-day.  Blackford 
is  very  quiet  and  unobtrusive,  but  at  the  same 
time  affords  that  feeling  of  society  which  is 
always  a  relief  in  a  strange  crowd.  I  do  not  like 
to  be  wholly  alone,  and  yet  I  do  not  like  to  be 
disturbed.  I  never  like  to  travel  now  without 
an  attendant  of  some  kind,  knowing  the  dangers 
which  beset  public  men.  While  waiting  for  the 
boat  which  runs  every  hour,  we  ate  an  oyster- 
stew,  and  reached  the  Washington  dock  at  three. 

I  wonder  what  makes  me  love  you  so  much. 
Why  is  it  that  out  of  all  the  millions  of  women 
in  the  world  I  turn  irresistibly  to  you?  How 

29 


HOME    LIFE 

% 

have  you  established  such  a  tyranny  over  me? 
Why  am  I  such  a  slave?  Others  smile  upon  me, 
but  I  heed  them  not.  My  sighs  constantly  ascend 
for  you.  When  I  look  at  the  window  whence  I 
used  to  see  you  watching  for  my  coming,  my 
heart  swells  with  grief  and  your  name  bursts 
from  my  lips  as  if  I  were  a  child.  There  is  a 
feeling  of  dependence  upon  you,  as  if  you  could 
protect  and  defend  me  from  all  the  evil  in  the 
world,  and  as  if  you  could  save  me  from  the 
dangers  of  the  great  hereafter.  Your  love  is  so 
strong,  so  pure,  so  faithful,  that  it  gives  me  a 
sense  of  infinite  tranquillity  and  infinite  peace  and 
rest. 

I  think  much  of  the  children,  but  they  seem 
to  be  only  incidents  of  our  love,  not  a  part  of  me. 
They  separate  us  for  awhile  —  they  educate  and 
develop  parts  of  our  nature  that  would  sleep 
otherwise  —  and  then  like  sweet  Ruth  they  take 
wings  and  fly  away,  or  they  grow  up  and  have 
children  of  their  own,  and  forget  us,  and  we 
know  them  no  more  save  as  memories.  So  you 
and  I  have  become  less  and  less  to  our  parents, 
and  as  our  children  leave  us,  we  shall  become 
more  and  more  I  hope  to  each  other,  till  our 
union  shall  be  complete  and  eternal.  I  can 
imagine  no  destiny  so  delightful  as  unobstructed 
companionship  with  your  noble  nature,  with  the 
love  of  your  tender  and  passionate  soul. 

30 


HOME   LIFE 

So  it  was  always.  He  ever  turned  to  his  wife. 
His  home  was  the 

"Golden  milestone: 

Was  the  central  point  from  which  he  measured  every  dis 
tance 
Through  the  gateways  of  the  world  around  him". 

V. 

Mrs.  Ingalls  heard,  by  letter  when  not  in 
Washington,  of  the  doings  and  habits  of  his 
colleagues  in  the  Senate,  as  witness: 

The  Colorado  millionaire,  Tabor,  took  his  seat 
last  week.  A  fouler  beast  was  never  depicted. 
He  is  of  the  Harvey  type,  but  indescribably  lower 
and  coarser.  Such  a  vulgar  ruffianly  boor  you 
never  beheld:  uncouth,  awkward,  shambling, 
dirty  hands  and  big  feet  turned  inward:  a  huge 
solitaire  diamond  on  a  sooty,  bony  blacksmith 
finger:  piratical  features,  unkempt,  frowsy  and 
unclean :  blotched  with  disease  —  he  looks  the 
brute  he  is.  He  was  stared  at  with  curious  but 
undisguised  abhorrence. 

D C is  going  to  the  bad  at  a  hand- 
gallop.  He  has  been  drunk  for  the  last  ten  days, 
and  is  now  threatened  with  delirium  tremens. 
His  poor  wife  is  in  despair.  It  seems  as  if  the 
devil  had  broken  loose  lately.  V  —  has  taken  to 
drink  again  after  a  year's  abstinence  and  has 

31 


HOME    LIFE 

been  kept  in  durance  by  his  friends.  Beck,  Voor- 
hees,  Morgan  and  half  a  dozen  more  are  either  in 
flamed  or  besotted  with  whiskey  half  the  time.  I 
am  not  sure  that  prohibition  is  not  salutary.  It 
is  singular  that  I  am  not  led  into  this  temptation 
myself.  My  grandfather  Ingalls  fell  a  victim  to 
the  appetite  in  his  later  days,  and  I  have  often 
wondered  how  I  escaped.  Sometimes  I  feel  an 
unappeasable  craving  for  champagne  or  ale,  but  a 
glass  satisfies  me. 

Whether  despondent  or  in  ecstacy,  he  turned 
always  and  ever  to  his  wife: 

This  is  an  enchanting  morning.  The  air  is  daz 
zling,  and  filled  with  the  floating  down  of  some 
tree  or  flower,  which  is  thicker  than  snowflakes. 
It  moves  through  the  silver  flood  of  sunshine  with 
an  indescribably  lazy,  graceful,  undulating,  hith- 
er-and-thither  motion,  which  fills  the  soul  with 
languor  and  stirs  an  impulse  to  wander  without 
end  or  aim. 

I  just  telegraphed  you  that  I  could  not  leave 
till  the  last  of  the  week.  I  enclose  you  two  tele 
grams  rec'd  yesterday  to  show  you  how  I  am 
beset.  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  leave  to-night,  but 
it  will  not  be  feasible. —  Last  night,  as  I  wrote 
you,  Gov.  H.  and  I  went  to  see  ' '  Ronsby ' '.  She  is 
too  tall  for  my  idea  of  beauty,  and  too  slender, 
and  her  nose  is  too  narrow,  and  she  shows  her 

32 


HOME   LIFE 

white  teeth  too  artificially,  but  she  is  unquestion 
ably  very  lovely,  and  with  that  statement  the 
whole  has  been  told.  She  is  not  an  actress,  but 
has  good  clothes.  One  green  velvet  dress  with 
gold  bands  down  the  front  was  very  effective. 

I  rose  this  morning  at  seven-thirty,  lay  ten  min 
utes  in  a  warm  bath,  ate  half  a  shad  for  break 
fast,  and  shall  proceed  in  a  few  moments  to  the 
Departments. 

My  best  wishes  and  my  tenderest  love  go  to 
ward  you  through  the  splendor  of  this  summer 
morning  which  shines  upon  the  world  like  your 
affection  upon  the  life  of  your 

Faithful  Husband. 

VI. 

Called  once  to  Washington  and  detained  be 
yond  the  time  he  intended  to  remain,  though  but 
a  few  days,  he  became  petulant  and  impatient, 
ending  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Ingalls  as  follows: 

I  hope  soon  to  hear  from  you  here.  It  is  but 
little  more  than  a  week  since  I  left  home,  but  it 
seems  a  month.  I  miss  you  more  and  more.  It  is 
such  a  consolation  to  know  that  you  are  near  me, 
in  the  room,  in  the  house,  by  my  side  in  sleep,  and 
always  loving  me,  always  ready  to  help  in  time  of 
need.  I  kiss  you  good  night. 


HOME    LIFE 

Such  fetters  as  he  was  bcOind  with  are  never 
broken.  They  become  the  mainspring  of  life's 
actions,  the  foundation  of  devotion  and  reverence. 

VII. 

Ingalls  owned  a  tract  of  land  below  Atchison. 
Much  of  it  overlooks  the  Valley  of  the  Missouri. 
Growing  on  it  were  groves  of  fine  forest  trees.  It 
was  his  wish  to  erect  there  a  residence  in  which 
to  live.  He  despised  "the  foolish  wrangle  of  the 
market  and  forum".  It  was  his  inclination  to 
live  apart  from  the  world,  an  esthetic  dreamer. 
The  gratification  of  this  whimsical  desire  the  good 
sense  of  Mrs.  Ingalls  prevented.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  practical  and  stirring  qualities  of  his  wife, 
Ingalls  would  have  died  an  obscure  country  law 
yer  or  editor,  a  real-estate  agent,  a  petty  and 
unsuccessful  tradesman,  or  an  employe  in  some 
department  of  government  —  and  more  than  likely 
without  a  dollar. 


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HOME  LIFE 

HIS   CHILDREN 


HOME   LIFE 

HIS   CHILDREN 


To  Ingalls  and  his  wife  were  born  eleven  chil 
dren.  They  were  a  source  of  unending  pleasure. 
He  was  very  proud  of  them.  Once  he  caught 
sight  of  one  newly  escaped  from  the  nursery,  all 
washed,  combed,  and  primped:  he  seized  it  and 
carried  it  before  his  guest,  Albert  D.  Richardson, 
and  exhibited  it  with  fond  pride.  The  children 
were  an  inspiration,  and  he  wrote  his  Kansas 
Magazine  articles  with  them  about  his  knees, 
with,  sometimes,  one  sitting  on  his  table.  He  re 
ferred  to  this  feature  of  that  work  in  his  note 
to  Mrs.  Ingalls  written  on  a  proof-sheet  of  "Blue 
Grass"  which  by  accident  came  into  his  hands  in 
Arizona : 

Dearest  Wife:  "Blue  Grass"  seems  to  be  one 
of  those  compositions  that  the  world  will  not 
willingly  let  die. 

Those  were  happy  days  when  it  was  written, 
in  the  little  cottage  on  the  bluff  looking  out  over 
the  great  river,  with  a  room  full  of  babies:  ob- 

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HOME   LIFE 

scure  and  unknown,  waiting  for  the  destiny,  so 
soon  to  come — (that  was  to  make  me  one  of  the 
conspicuous  figures  of  the  country  for  so  many 
years).  How  far  away  it  seems ! 

Ingalls  had  great  solicitude  for  the  health  of 
these  little  ones,  and  believing  prunes  conducive 
thereto,  insisted  on  having  a  supply  constantly 
at  his  disposal :  meritorious  actions  were  rewarded 
with  prunes.  He  obtained  much  satisfaction  and 
great  amusement  in  constituting  himself  a  judge 
to  hear  and  determine  the  grievances  the  chil 
dren  might  find  against  one  another  in  their  daily 
intercourse. 

H. 

Ingalls  had  much  comfort  from  his  correspond 
ence  with  his  children,  especially  his  daughters. 
He  was  paradoxical  and  eccentric.  Men  never 
could  understand  him.  But  women  could  readily 
comprehend  his  whims  and  his  fancies.  Perhaps 
this  is  another  instance  of  a  strong  masculine 
character  with  feminine  traits  and  tendencies  of 
thought. 

In  a  letter  to  Constance,  away  at  school,  he  de 
scribed  an  entertainment  for  young  people  then 

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HOME    LIFE 

in  progress  at  home.  "  There  is  much  wise,  im 
proving  conversation  accompanied  by  convulsive 
giggling  and  shallow  shrieks  of  laughter",  he 
says ;  and  he  ends  with  a  rhyming  warning  against 
sweetmeats : 

Beware   of   the   sweet-press, 

For    demons    untold, 
In  its  secret  recess, 

Their  revelries  hold! 
Dyspepsia,   sick-headache, 

And  black  molars  are  there, 
Whose  pangs  goad  their  victims 

To  unending  despair! 

Beware   of   the    sweet-press, — 

Cake,   jelly,   and  jam, 
Ice   cream   and  fried   oysters, 

Pie,   candy   and   ham 
Rob  the  eye  of  its  brightness, 

The    cheek    of    its    bloom, 
Make  the  liver   inactive 

And    the    stomach    a    tomb! 

In  the  appreciative  and  delicately  attuned  mind 
all  the  phenomena  of  nature  find  instant  response. 
The  adequate  expression  of  the  emotion  thus  gen 
erated  is  literature  if  written,  music  if  sung,  art 
if  painted.  To  Constance,  after  a  period  of  very 
cold  weather,  he  wrote: 

The  cold  wave  seems  to  have  passed  off,  though 

39 


HOME   LIFE 

I  don't  like  to  say  much  about  it,  for  we  had  a 
pleasant  day  some  time  ago,  and  talked  consid 
erably  and  chuckled  over  it,  and  that  night  the 
temperature  sank  below  zero  and  stayed  there 
for  two  weeks.  It  was  a  struggle  for  existence. 
We  closed  all  the  doors,  shut  off  the  hall,  cut  off 
the  water,  had  fires  in  the  grates,  stuffed  cotton 
in  all  the  crevices,  and  lived  like  Esquimaux  in 
their  igloos. 

But  it  really  is  lovely  this  morning.  I  went  out 
for  a  stroll,  after  breakfast,  on  the  stone  walk,  in 
the  sun.  Two  fat  brown  birds  hopped  about  in  the 
branches  of  one  of  the  shrubs,  and  Jim  Crow  [one 
of  the  family  cats]  kept  me  company,  sometimes 
walking  alongside,  and  then  going  before  and 
rolling  over  a  time  or  two  to  attract  attention. 
When  I  pulled  his  tail  and  ears  he  growled  fero 
ciously  and  hissed  like  a  snake,  and  then  rolled 
over  again. 

As  I  stood  by  the  gate  looking  down  towards 
Mrs.  Crowley's  cabin  —  she  and  Tim  are  both  ill 
with  the  grip,  influenza,  colds,  rheumatism,  an 
tiquity,  &c. —  the  pealing  bells  of  St.  Benedict 
broke  out  into  a  swelling  tumult  of  exalting  mel 
ody,  vibrating  and  rising  and  falling,  rolling  north 
and  south  and  east  and  west,  down  the  valley 
and  up  to  the  shining  zenith,  and  after  an  en 
trancing  interval,  died  away  and  were  still.  It 
was  quite  incredible  that  some  shock-headed  Pad- 

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HOME   LIFE 

dy,  who  probably  carries  a  hod  or  drives  a  dray 
during  the  week,  could,  by  pulling  a  rope  a  few 
moments,  produce  such  an  ecstacy  of  sound  on 
Sunday,  without  any  idea  that  I  would  write  you 
a  letter  concerning  it.  ... 

The  mind  has  much  influence,  and  a  cheerful 
spirit  is  better  than  medicine.  Resolve  to  be 
well:  don't  brood  upon  dark  thoughts:  throw 
open  the  windows  of  your  soul  to  the  sun:  take 
short  views  of  life:  get  plenty  of  air,  plain  food 
and  sleep,  with  moderate  exercise.  Write  to  me 
if  there  is  anything  you  want.  I  should  be  your 
friend,  even  if  you  were  not  my  child. 

The  expression  of  the  emotions  aroused  by  any 
odd  occurrence,  droll  incident,  or  ridiculous  cir 
cumstance  is  humor.  It  is  one  of  the  most  agree 
able,  valuable  and  effective  forms  of  literature. 
Ingalls  was  keenly  sensitive  to  this  literary  qual 
ity,  and  his  best  writing  is  but  an  exemplification 
of  it.  There  is  much  of  it  in  his  letters  to  his 
children.  Early  one  March  he  wrote  to  Con 
stance  : 

The  wind  is  east,  and  has  been  in  the  same 
quarter  most  of  the  time  for  several  weeks,  with 
fogs,  vapors,  mists  and  dismal  lamentations  by 
night,  as  if  we  were  by  the  sea  instead  of  five 
hundred  leagues  inland.  It  has  not  been  very 

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HOME    LIFE 

% 

cold,  and  under  the  drenching  humidity  the  grass 
has  grown  green,  and  the  lawn  looks  like  April. 
I  have  never  seen  such  verdure  so  early,  but  the 
constant  cloudiness  is  depressing. 

This  morning  at  breakfast  we  had  a  cat  fight. 
Dandy  was  the  aggressor.  He  pretended  to  be  at 
play  with  Mr.  Crow,  who  was  not  in  a  humor 
for  mirth,  and  seemed  rather  to  resent  famili 
arity.  But  Dandy  kept  at  it,  and  finally  they 
laid  their  ears  flat  on  their  heads,  and  spat  on 
their  hands  and  cuffed  each  other  soundly,  rolling 
and  tumbling  over  each  other  on  the  floor,  till  at 
last  Jim  ignominiously  retreated  to  the  sitting- 
room  in  a  very  bad  humor  indeed  for  the  first 
Sunday  in  Lent. 

The  Friday  Afternoon  Club  met  here  on  their 
day  last  week:  a  very  pretty,  well-dressed,  and 
well-behaved  lot  of  girls,  who  would  be  an  orna 
ment  and  a  credit  to  any  society.  Their  topic  of 
discussion  was  Louis  XIV  or  XV  of  France. 
What  they  said  about  him  I  don't  know,  but  I 
have  no  doubt  they  made  his  royal  ears  burn,  or 
would  have,  had  they  not  been  in  a  much  hotter 
place. 

A  fine  morning  in  spring  and  a  view,  from  the 
bluffs  about  Atchison,  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mis 
souri  always  threw  Ingalls  into  rapture.  In  this 
condition  he  drank  in  the  beauties  of  the  land- 

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HOME    LIFE 

scape,  and  in  writing  never  failed  to  enumerate 
them.  And  if  the  grotesque  appeared  anywhere 
in  the  picture  it  was  certain  to  be  portrayed. 
See  this  April  letter  to  Constance: 

This  is  a  day  when  it  is  a  pleasure  to  be  alive. 
The  sky  is  intensely  blue,  and  cloudless  save  for 
a  few  white  woolly  cumuli  that  lie  piled  idly 
along  the  northern  horizon,  above  the  green  hills 
that  divide  the  waters  of  White  Clay  and  Inde 
pendence  creeks.  A  scarcely  perceptible  breath 
blows  from  the  west.  The  grass  glitters  in  the 
sun.  Dimly  visible  beyond  the  great  curves  of 
the  shining  river,  veiled  in  amethyst,  are  the 
bluffs  of  St.  Joseph  and  the  trailing  plumes  of 
smoke  from  its  towers.  The  hyacinths,  red,  white 
and  blue,  dazzle  the  eye  like  flame  on  the  eastern 
lawn,  and  crimson  tulips  in  another  bed,  emulate 
their  fragile  glory.  The  cherry  trees  in  the  orch 
ard  are  turning  white  with  blossoms,  and  the 
apple  trees  are  fairly  green  with  their  infant 
foliage.  James  Crow  lies  lazily  on  the  veranda, 
and  Limpy,  the  spotted  cow,  grazes  near  the  cot 
tage,  pausing  occasionally  to  contemplate  the 
awkward  antics  of  her  new  calf  that  prances  on 
the  sward  with  tail  high  in  the  air,  and  an  aspect 
of  surprise  at  the  exhibition  of  its  unwonted 
powers.  Bed-clothes,  mattresses  and  blankets  pro 
trude  from  the  wide-open  doors  and  windows  of 

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HOME    LIFE 

^ 

the  cottage,  and  a  smell  also  that  is  equally 
noticeable.  The  dull  alternate  thud  of  the  carpet- 
pounders  resounds  from  the  sitting-room  carpet, 
suspended  from  a  line  near-by,  and  clouds  of  dust 
float  towards  Reresby  where  the  oaks  and  hick 
ories  seem  almost  conscious  of  approaching  sum 
mer. 

Yes:  it  is  a  nice  day.  It  reminds  me  of  the 
guide-board  in  Bill  Nye's  recent  letter — "Go  to 
Foley's  grove  and  have  a  good  time  while  you 
are  alive,  for  you'll  be  a  long  time  dead!" 

And  here  is  one  written  the  following  Thanks 
giving  : 

It  is  a  most  entrancing  morning.  I  have  just 
come  in  from  a  stroll  in  the  sunshine  to  and  fro 
along  the  stone  walk  to  the  north  gate.  The  sky 
is  cloudless  and  the  wind  just  strong  enough  to 
turn  the  mill  slowly  in  the  soft  air.  The  smoke 
from  the  chimneys  rises  straight  to  the  zenith 
and  dissolves  in  the  stainless  blue.  In  the  deep 
distant  valley  the  river  glimmers  through  a  dim 
silver  mist  woven  with  shifting  purple  like  the 
hues  which  gleam  on  the  breast  of  a  dove.  Un 
dulating  along  the  horizon  the  bluffs  rise  like 
translucent  crags  of  violet  and  indigo  (blue, 
green,  yellow,  orange,  red!)  and  from  the  city 
beneath,  as  from  a  gulf  profound,  columns  of 
vapor  and  fumes  from  engines  and  factories, 

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HOME   LIFE 

ascend  accompanied  by  a  confused  and  inarticu 
late  murmur,  like  whispers  of  protest  and  pain. 
During  the  night  it  rained,  and  the  grass  of  the 
lawn  is  green.  It  glitters  and  scintillates  with 
the  transitory  gems  of  the  frost.  Here  and  there 
are  disappearing  ridges  of  snow  from  the  storm 
of  Monday,  and  in  the  hollows  of  the  grove  the 
bronze  leaves  of  the  oaks  are  piled  high,  to  be 
dispersed  by  the  next  gale,  like  the  ruined  gold 
of  a  spendthrift,  or  the  vanishing  hopes  of  men. 

"We  had  a  lovely  breakfast  at  eight, —  an 
"American  hare",  with  chops,  fried  potatoes, 
cakes,  fruit,  and  —  pie !  —  pumpkin  pie,  upon 
which  I  fed  with  my  eyes  only.  James  Crow  sat 
in  my  chair,  gravely  gazing  at  the  viands,  and  oc 
casionally  looking  up  at  me  with  a  mute  mew, 
opening  his  mouth  piteously  without  noise  or 
sound.  Three  white  hairs  have  appeared  in  his 
whiskers,  one  of  which  stands  perpendicularly  in 
the  atmosphere  above  his  right  eye,  giving  him  a 
rakish  and  mephistophelian  aspect.  If  he  ex 
hibited  a  disposition  to  encroach  on  the  table  I 
rapped  one  of  his  ears,  which  he  regarded  appar 
ently  as  an  act  of  great  contumely,  and  would 
have  resented  had  he  not  been  restrained  by  tim 
idity,  or  hope. 

Adieu,  my  dear  child,  and  may  the  Lord  have 
you  in  His  holy  keeping!  Be  good,  docile,  obedi 
ent,  studious.  Remember  that  we  all  love  you 

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HOME    LIFE 

and  think  of  you  hourly,  with  tender  affection. 
T  enclose  you  a  little  Christmas  gift,  prematurely, 
but  you  can  retain  it  till  the  time  comes,  if  you 
choose,  or  not,  as  you  will. 

A  December  letter  shows  appreciation  of  the 
wintry  season. 

The  morning  is  still  and  gray  with  an  over 
cast  sky,  presaging  rain  or  snow.  The  few  past 
days  have  been  like  a  reminiscence  or  prophecy 
of  spring,  as  if  Nature  were  in  a  penitential  mood, 
making  reparation  for  past  transgressions,  or 
were  furtively  preparing  for  new  depredations. 

Yesterday  after  luncheon  I  rode  to  Hamerwood. 
It  was  like  April  save  for  the  lingering  patches  of 
snow  in  places  sheltered  from  the  sun,  and  the 
mire  of  the  roads.  But  Rolla  picked  his  way  by 
the  side  of  muddy  ruts,  and  we  got  along  very 
well.  In  the  woods  it  was  lovely,  so  still,  and 
fragrant  with  the  damp  and  decaying  leaves. 
The  waters  in  the  pool  under  the  cliff  by  the  cas 
cade  were  bright  and  clear  as  glass,  reflecting  the 
network  of  twigs  and  branches  like  an  etching, 
and  a  little  solitary  silent  bird  was  the  only  ten 
ant  of  the  forest.  I  found  the  cows  in  a  sheltered 
glade  looking  as  sleek  and  comfortable  and  con 
tented  as  need  be,  and  apparently  glad  to  see  me, 
Ole  especially.  I  took  a  chunk  of  rock-salt  in  my 
pocket  for  them,  which  she  took  in  her  mouth 

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HOME    LIFE 

and  vainly  tried  to  chew.  Her  efforts  were  pain 
ful  to  behold,  though  she  seemed  to  enjoy  it, 
judging  from  the  way  her  mouth  watered,  as  the 
children  say.  The  others  gathered  about  her,  wait 
ing  for  their  turn  to  attempt  to  masticate  the 
delicacy,  which  she  was  rolling  as  a  sweet  morsel 
under  her  lips  like  a  girl  in  a  chewing-gum  ec- 
stacy.  The  sun  was  descending  as  I  approached 
the  city,  gilding  with  transient  luster  the  towers 
of  Midland  and  the  spires  of  St.  Scholastico,  and 
the  windowed  front  of  the  Orphan's  Home,  dimly 
discernible  through  the  mists  against  the  northern 
sky. 

The  interval  between  Thanksgiving  and  Christ 
mas  to  me  is  the  pleasantest  of  the  year.  The 
days  grow  shorter  and  shorter  and  the  earth  more 
homelike  and  habitable;  shut  in  from  the  mys 
teries  of  the  sky,  one  can  be  lazy  and  useless  with 
out  reproach.  I  know  of  nothing  more  indolently 
delightful  than  a  brief  day  of  drifting  snow,  with 
its  late  morning  and  early  nightfall,  and  an  in 
teresting  novel  by  the  seclusion  of  a  smouldering 
fire  of  logs  on  the  library  hearth.  And  there  is 
nothing  more  dreary  and  desolate  than  the  next 
morning,  when  the  sun  from  a  cloudless  east 
shines  cold  and  clear  above  a  white  and  glittering 
waste. 

The  Honorable  James  Crow  is  in  good  health, 
though  disgracefully  corpulent.  His  obesity  af- 

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% 

fects  his  voice,  which  is  wheezy  like  an  accordeon 
with  a  hole  in  it. 

Ingalls  could  not  escape  the  consequences  of 
vagrant,  worthless,  shiftless  neighbors,  as  wit 
ness  this : 

The  only  thing  commendable  about  the  season 
so  far  is  that  it  is  splendid  for  the  grass  which 
thrives  luxuriantly  in  the  cool  humidity.  It  is 
so  much  richer  inside  our  gates  that  all  the  vag 
rant  horses  and  cows  on  the  common  sneak  in 
when  we  are  not  looking,  and  then  rush  tumult- 
uously  out  when  they  are  shouted  at,  knowing 
very  well  that  they  are  trespassers.  There  is  one 
old,  blind  and  crippled  quadruped  with  a  long 
rope  attached  to  a  block  of  wood  who  seems  par 
ticularly  fiendish  in  his  invasions.  I  was  nearly 
choked  with  rage  just  after  breakfast  by  find 
ing  him  in  again  on  my  finest  sward.  I  thought  I 
should  have  an  apoplexy,  and  shouted  to  Ben  to 
capture  him,  and  then  call  the  City  Marshal  to 
take  the  beast  to  the  pound.  Just  then  a  bare 
footed,  bareheaded  girl  in  a  napping  pink  calico 
garment  came  running  over  the  hill,  and  upon 
inquiry  informed  me  the  animal  was  "ours",  and 
drove  him  away.  I  think  some  of  having  the 
place  fortified  with  a  line  of  earth-works  all 
round,  with  bastions  at  the  corners,  and  a  draw 
bridge  and  portcullis.  Then  with  four  pieces  of 

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HOME    LIFE 

artillery,  and  a  regiment  of  infantry  armed  with 
magazine  rifles,  we  can  protect  ourselves  against 
the  incursions  of  our  neighbors. 

Last  week  when  the  weather  was  fair  I  spent 
a  day  burning  the  leaves  and  brush  in  the  groves 
and  hollows  in  every  direction  about  Oakridge. 
The  wind  had  brought  in  all  the  newspapers  and 
rags  and  debris  of  this  part  of  the  country  and 
lodged  them  against  the  trees  and  fences  and 
shrubs  and  in  the  ravines.  The  smoke  of  my  con 
flagration  filled  the  whole  valley  of  the  Missouri, 
and  must  have  been  visible  as  far  as  St.  Joseph 
and  Leavenworth.  It  looked  very  black  after 
wards,  but  the  new  grass  is  growing,  and  it  is 
like  a  great  park  in  every  direction.  The  nodding 
flowers  of  the  dog-tooth  violet  deck  the  warm 
slopes  with  their  transitory  beauty,  and  the  dan 
delions  are  preparing  to  star  the  verdure  with 
their  vanishing  gold. 

This  raking  and  burning  on  the  first  day  pos 
sible  in  the  spring  was  a  habit  with  Ingalls.  The 
day  was  regarded  with  something  akin  to  terror 
by  the  household,  particularly  the  cook.  She  al 
ways  declared  he  would  set  the  house  on  fire  and 
never  failed  to  provide  pails  of  water  for  that 
emergency.  But  he  was  so  much  in  earnest  and 
raked  so  vigorously  and  issued  orders  and  gave 

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HOME    LIFE 

commands  so  grandly  and  took  the  whole  matter 
so  seriously,  that  there  was  enjoyment  in  watch 
ing  him. 

He  never  failed  to  describe  in  his  letters  the 
country  through  which  he  passed  nor  the  objects 
of  interest  corning  under  his  observation.  He 
wrote  Constance  of  his  visit  to  Springfield,  Mo., 
noting  the  principal  features  of  that  fine  town : 

I  returned  last  night  from  Springfield,  Mo., 
where  I  spoke  Monday  night.  Your  Uncle  Fran 
cis,  you  remember,  is  President  of  a  college  there. 
The  town  lies  rather  incoherently  scattered  along 
the  ridge  of  a  stony  hill,  one  of  the  spurs  of  the 
Ozark  Mountains,  sloping  towards  abrupt  and 
picturesque  valleys,  shaded  with  forests  of  stunt 
ed  oaks,  and  bright  with  the  purple  of  violets 
and  the  gold  of  dandelions  and  other  nameless 
blooms.  Tuesday  afternoon  we  drove  to  the 
Mysterious  Spring  from  which  the  city  is  sup 
plied  with  water.  Descending  a  rugged  decliv 
ity,  we  emerged  upon  a  little  verdant  plain,  con 
fronted  on  the  north  by  a  ledge  of  gray  rock  ris 
ing  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  feet  and  wrinkled  by 
frost  and  rain  and  snow  and  heat  like  the  bony 
forehead  of  an  aged  hermit.  It  was  overhung 
by  the  branches  and  vines  of  a  forest  just  touched 
with  the  verdure  of  April,  and  in  the  crevices  of 

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HOME  HFE 

the  cliff  nodded  precarious  flowers  in  the  soft  sun 
light.  At  the  foot  of  this  crag  opens  an  arch 
with  regular  curve  perhaps  twelve  feet  wide  and 
six  feet  high,  the  mouth  of  a  cavern  receding 
into  the  rock,  from  which,  like  the  fountain  at 
Horeb,  emerges  a  strong  bright  clear  stream  of 
water  so  copious  and  constant  that  it  is  more 
like  a  subterranean  river  than  a  spring,  and  fur 
nishes  twenty  thousand  people  with  an  abundant 
supply  for  their  kettles  and  coffee  pots.  By  en 
closing  a  space  in  front  of  the  arch  with  a  wall  of 
masonry  a  reservoir  has  been  constructed  in 
which  the  waters  are  collected  for  distribution 
by  great  pumping  engines  in  a  house  near-by.  It 
makes  a  lovely  pool  like  that  of  Siloam,  trans- 
lucently  clear  and  pure  like  the  hue  of  young 
lettuce  leaves,  and  the  surplus  falls  in  a  musical 
cascade  over  a  dam  and  goes  dancing  and  laugh 
ing  down  the  valley. 

As  to  how  Ingalls  was  affected  by  external 
agencies  he  gives  some  insight  in  these  letters 
to  Constance: 

Vocal  music  is  an  accomplishment  that  never 
appealed  to  me  very  strongly,  except  choirs  of 
men's  voices  singing  simple  chords  and  familiar 
melodies.  I  have  heard  many  of  the  best  women 
artists  with  no  other  emotion  than  that  with 
which  one  sees  a  performance  on  the  trapeze. 

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HOME    LIFE 

% 

But  instrumental  music  moves  me  very  power 
fully,  agitates  me  with  uncontrollable  and  inde 
scribable  intoxication.  The  distant  strains  of  a 
martial  band  vanishing  with  the  march:  a  quat 
rain  of  negroes  blowing  "harmonicums"  at  night, 
minor  chords  and  nocturnes  on  a  piano  with  low 
notes  and  plenty  of  pedal  for  vibration  lingering 
on  the  sense :  a  bell  faintly  ringing  beyond  a  for 
est  —  such  things  sometimes  move  me  even  now, 
old  and  tough  and  world-worn  and  weary  as  I  am, 
to  tears.  They  summon  spirits  from  the  vasty 
deep :  the  ghosts  of  hopes  that  are  dead :  of  dreams 
that  have  faded :  of  friends  that  are  gone :  of  am 
bitions  that  are  quenched:  of  life's  joy  and  bloom 
and  splendor  that  will  return  no  more. 

To  me  the  loss  of  sight  would  be  the  greatest 
affliction  because  my  love  of  nature  and  physical 
beauty  is  so  strong.  Hearing  is  limited.  A  short 
distance,  the  loudest  sounds  are  inaudible.  So 
with  taste.  It  gives  delight,  but  the  body  can  be 
nourished  without  the  sensibility  of  the  palate 
and  the  tongue.  If  dumb  we  can  still  write  and 
read  and  hear.  If  we  are  unable  to  perceive  the 
fragrance  of  flowers  we  can  yet  be  charmed  with 
the  color  and  outline.  If  deaf  we  can  communi 
cate  with  the  eye  and  the  pen.  But  to  be  blind 
is  to  be  imprisoned  in  perpetual  darkness:  shut 
out  from  the  universe,  from  the  aspects  of  the 
earth,  the  sky,  and  the  sea :  unable  to  go  or  come : 

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HOME    LIFE 

compelled  to  be  led  and  fed  and  dressed  like  an 
infant,  and  denied  the  joy  of  beholding  the  faces 
that  we  love.  But  after  all  we  adapt  ourselves  to 
these  privations  without  much  grief.  I  have  seen 
many  blind  persons,  but  they  are  generally  cheer 
ful  enough  and  seem  to  enjoy  life  very  well.  The 
soul  is  independent  of  the  senses.  These  are  the 
avenues  through  which  it  communicates  with 
others  temporarily,  and  are  not  necessary  to  its 
existence.  I  have  no  doubt  there  are  many  senses 
we  do  not  possess:  many  properties  of  matter 
with  which  we  are  unacquainted :  many  more 
dimensions  than  length,  breadth  and  thickness: 
more  colors  than  those  which  glow  in  the  rain 
bow  and  the  rose :  many  conditions  immediately 
about  and  around  and  within,  that  we  do  not 
perceive,  any  more  than  my  horse  understands 
history  and  arithmetic,  or  the  fish  swimming  in 
the  ocean  comprehends  the  great  steamships  with 
their  cargoes  of  men  and  women  and  merchan 
dise  ploughing  the  waves  which  are  his  firmament. 
It  is  an  incomparable  morning.  The  grass  glis 
tens  with  thick  white  frost,  and  the  dense  columns 
of  smoke  and  vapor  from  the  town  below,  ascend 
slowly  toward  the  dazzling  sky.  The  vibrations 
of  the  convent  bell,  ringing  for  nine,  linger  for 
an  instant,  cease  and  are  still. 


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HOME    LIFE 
III. 

Ingalls  was  able  to  put  himself  on  a  level  with 
the  child  in  his  correspondence  —  to  feel  and 
write  like  a  child.  He  always  had  something  to 
say  that  would  certainly  interest  the  young  mind. 
To  Marion  he  wrote  of  a  trolley  party : 

Sheffield  reports  this  morning  that  you  had  a 
splendid  trolley  party  last  night,  with  many  elec 
tric  lights,  fine  music  and  refreshments.  Similar 
splendor  prevailed  here.  The  grounds  at  Oak- 
ridge  were  illuminated  by  an  unclouded  moon 
specially  ordered  for  the  occasion,  several  hun 
dred  thousand  stars,  and  a  million  lightning-bugs. 
During  the  intervals  till  midnight  four  thousand 
bands  composed  of  eleven  hundred  locusts,  two 
thousand  katydids  and  7,569  black  crickets  played 
ragtime  in  the  grass. 

And  see  this: 

The 

little 

Chester 

White 

Pig 

died 

this 

morning 

about 

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HOME    LIFE 

eight 

o1 

clock. 

The 

calf 

is 

well 

and 

happy 

and 

so 

is 

Papa. 

Here  is  the  fate   of  the   gum-chewer  cleverly 
stated  in  what  he  terms  — 

THE    SAD    HISTORY    OF    A   LITTLE    GIRL    IN    ALABAMA    WHO 
CHEWED   QTJM. 

I 

She  got  aboard  at  Pleasant  Gap 

To    go   to   bus    Colum* 
And  when  the  train -boy  came   she  bought 

Some  Pepsin  chewing  gum. 

II 

She  chewed  and  chawed  and  chawed  and  chewed 

And   chewed   and   chawed   and   chewed 
And  chawed  and  chawed  and  chawed  and  chewed 

And  chewed  and  chawed  and  chewed. 

*This  should  have  been  "Columbus1'  instead  of  "bus  Colum",  but  it 
wouldn't  rhyme. 

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HOME    LIFE 

* 

in 

And  when  she  climbed  the  golden  stair 

To  go  to  Kingdom  come, 
She  never  laid  her  cud  aside 

But  kept  on  chewing  gum. 

IIII 

Saint  Peter  met  her  at  the  gate 

A    looking    very    glum: 
She  said  "Oh,   is  my  hat  on  straight?" 

And   kept   on   chewing  gum. 

inn 

"Why  do  you  work  your  jaws?"  says  he, 

"From  which  no  accents  come?" 
"Oh   that's   because   I   chews",   says   she — 

"And  wouldn't  you  like  some?" 

mm 

Whereat  Saint  Peter  got  very  hot 

And  whacked  her  with  his  key, 
And  round  she  went,  and  down  she  went, 

"You   mean  old  thing",  says  she. 

IIIIIII 

Past  sun  and   moon  and  stars  she  fell, 

With  terror  stricken  dumb: 
But  through  the  wreck  and  crash  of  worlds 

She  kept  on   chewing  gum ! 

Nothing  could  be  more  droll  and  entertaining 
than  the  following  letter  to  his  daughter  Marion, 

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HOME    LIFE 

written  in  a  serious  vein,  but  in  all  kindness,  and 
evidently  in  amusement: 

I  received  your  letter  yesterday,  but  it  was  so 
hot,  and  I  was  so  busy,  that  I  could  not  go  out 
to  get  the  gloves.  I  determined  to  rise  early  this 
morning,  and  when  I  looked  at  my  watch  it  was 
a  quarter  before  six.  This  was  too  soon  to  rise,  so 
I  put  my  watch  back  under  the  pillow  and  took 
another  nap.  When  I  looked  again  it  was  nearly 
seven,  and  feeling  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost, 
I  bathed,  shaved  and  dressed  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible.  Then  I  rung  for  breakfast.  I  had  two 
great  plums,  one  purple  and  one  yellow,  three 
slices  of  dry  toast,  an  egg,  breakfast  bacon  and 
coffee.  By  this  time  it  was  nearly  eight  o'clock, 
and  I  left  the  house.  I  was  for  some  time  in 
doubt  whether  to  take  a  herdic  or  a  street-car, 
but  finally  concluded  in  favor  of  the  car,  and 
turning  slowly  down  New  Jersey  Avenue  I  waited 
at  the  corner  near  the  B.  &  0.  depot  until  an 
open  car  came  along.  I  took  a  front  seat  by  the 
side  of  a  young  man  in  a  seersucker  coat.  When 
the  conductor  appeared  I  handed  him  a  dollar 
bill.  He  gave  me  three  quarters  in  silver  and  a 
package  of  six  tickets,  from  which  he  took  one, 
entitling  me  to  a  seat  till  the  end  of  my  journey. 
We  passed  slowly  westward  along  D  Street,  into 
Indiana  Avenue,  past  the  City  Hall  and  Police 
Headquarters,  into  Fifth  Street.  Here  the  car 

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HOME    LIFE 

% 

stopped  to  let  off  some  passengers  for  the  Pension 
Office,  and  starting  up  again  ran  smoothly  along 
F  Street,  and  paused  at  the  corner  of  Ninth. 
Some  confusion  occurred  here,  so  many  desiring 
to  leave  and  enter  the  car  at  the  same  time, 
but  at  last  we  moved  on,  and  arriving  at  the  cor 
ner  of  Eleventh,  I  rose  and  went  to  the  rear  plat 
form.  Fortunately  a  lady  was  waiting  at  that 
place  to  take  the  car,  so  I  was  not  compelled  to 
have  the  car  stopped  on  my  account. 

Entering  the  store,  I  inquired  where  kid  gloves 
for  children  could  be  found.  A  polite  attendant 
directed  me  through  an  arched  opening  to  a  dis 
tant  counter,  where  I  found  a  homely  young  lady 
with  pimples  and  a  pink  cambric  or  gingham 
dress.  I  made  known  my  errand. 

"What  size?"  said  she. 

"Five  and  five  and  a  half,"  said  I. 

"One  pair?"  said  she. 

"One  of  each  size,"  said  I. 

Turning  to  the  case  behind  her,  she  took  out 
two  packages  carefully  folded  in  white  paper. 

"Who  are  they  for?"  said  she. 

"For  Marion  In  galls,  of  Oakridge,  near  Atch- 
ison,  Kansas,  and  her  little  sister  Muriel,"  said  I. 

"Has  she  any  money  to  pay  for  these  gloves? 
They  are  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  pair,  and  we 
sell  only  for  cash,"  said  she. 

"She  has  between  four  and  five  dollars,"  said  I. 

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HOME    LIFE 

11  Where  is  it?"  said  she. 

"In  her  bank  at  Atchison,"  said  I. 

"Why  didn't  she  send  it?"  said  she. 

"She  forgot  it,"  said  I,  feeling  so  badly  that  I 
thought  I  should  weep. 

She  began  to  put  the  gloves  back  into  the  boxes 
again,  saying  that  Mr.  Lathrop  told  her  not  to 
sell  kid  gloves  to  little  girls  unless  they  sent  the 
money  along  to  pay  for  them,  but  agreed  at  last 
to  let  me  have  them  if  I  would  advance  the 
amount  till  she  could  hear  from  you.  This  I  did, 
and  you  will  find  the  gloves  in  this  soap-box,  the 
fives  for  you  and  the  five  and  a  half  for  Muriel. 

Another  in  the  same  vein  was  later  written  to 
Marion  and  Muriel,  from  which  the  following  is 
taken : 

I  worked  very  hard  all  the  forenoon,  sitting  in 
the  hammock  while  Warner  pushed  the  lawn- 
mower  and  George  weeded  the  walks  and  flower 
beds.  They  furnished  the  muscle  and  I  supplied 
the  brain  power.  It  was  a  great  strain,  but  I  kept 
resolutely  at  my  task,  resisting  all  temptations  to 
idleness,  and  when  it  was  over  I  felt  amply  re 
paid  for  all  my  efforts  by  the  consciousness  of 
duty  performed  and  the  smiles  of  an  approving 
conscience.  Tag  sat  in  the  shade  snapping  at  the 
flies,  and  the  birds  sang  now  and  then  in  the 
branches.  I  was  shocked  by  the  selfish  and  in- 

59 

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HOME    LIFE 

considerate  conduct  of  the  bantam  cockerel  who 
clucked  whenever  he  found  a  fat  bug,  and  as  soon 
as  his  family  came  up,  ate  it  himself. 

My  labors  wrere  increased  by  a  man  who  came 
to  make  some  repairs  on  the  roof,  and  when  Pul- 
len's  ice- wagon  drove  up,  I  began  to  think  I 
never  should  get  through.  Just  as  I  began  to 
see  the  end  of  my  toil,  the  carpenter  appeared  to 
put  a  screen-door  to  Sheffield's  room  to  keep  the 
mice  from  biting  him  in  the  night,  and  put  a  lock 
on  the  sideboard.  By  the  time  the  bell  rang  for 
luncheon  I  was  so  exhausted  that  I  could  hardly 
walk  to  the  ice-water  bucket,  but  the  sight  of 
food  revived  me  somewhat,  and  I  was  barely  able 
to  eat  two  slices  of  cold  lamb,  three  baked  po 
tatoes,  two  slices  of  bread  and  butter  with  cur 
rant  jelly,  a  spoonful  of  smearcase,  a  dish  of 
strawberries,  a  piece  of  cold  apple  pie,  a  slice  of 
cake,  a  peach  and  an  apricot,  with  a  glass  of 
water  and  a  cup  of  tea,  after  which  I  felt  re 
freshed. 

The  sensitive  mind  is  started  in  a  strain  of 
thought  by  mere  suggestion.  The  mention  of 
golf  by  his  daughter  Muriel  brought  her  the 
following : 

I  had  my  hair  cut  this  morning  after  breakfast 
at  the  tonsorial  parlors  of  Felix :  price,  thirty-five 
cents.  It  is  a  great  drain  on  my  resources.  My 

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HOME    LIFE 

hair  requires  cutting  once  every  three  weeks  at 
least,  sometimes  oftener,  or  it  becomes  ragged 
and  bummy.  Call  it  five  dollars  a  year,  for  fifty 
years,  and  there  you  have  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  and  the  hair  gone  also.  Supposing  the 
hair  to  grow  a  foot  a  year,  my  tresses  by  this 
time  would  have  been  fifty  feet  long,  so  that 
when  I  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  stairs  the  ends 
would  just  be  dragging  out  of  my  chamber  door. 
One  year  in  college,  however,  I  let  my  hair  grow 
and  hang  down  on  my  shoulders  in  curls  like  a 
sissy  boy,  so  you  might  leave  off  one  foot. 

So,  golf  has  struck  Atchison  at  last !  It  has 
been  a  long  time  coming,  but  I  have  no  doubt  it 
is  good  healthy  recreation.  It  is  odd  that  the 
entire  human  race  spends  most  of  its  time  knock 
ing  little  balls  about.  The  baby  has  a  rubber 
ball.  The  boy  plays  marbles,  and  as  he  gets 
older,  plays  base  ball  and  football.  Then  he 
knocks  balls  with  a  stick  about  the  billiard  tables. 
Then  he  takes  larger  sticks  and  hits  little  balls 
in  polo  and  golf.  When  children  get  angry  they 
throw  spit-balls,  and  if  men  are  mad  they  shoot 
pistol-balls.  As  soon  as  a  girl  grows  up,  she  im 
mediately  wants  to  go  to  balls — (Loud  cries  of 
"  Oh  !  oh  !  —  Sneak !  —  Come  off !  —What  ye  giv- 
in'  us!"  etc.)  So  I  desist,  except  to  say  that  the 
Creator  has  filled  the  Universe  of  space  with  balls 
of  different  sizes  which  He  spins  and  whirls  about 

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HOME    LIFE 

in  all  directions,  and  that  we  have  a  good  ex 
ample. 

I  omitted  to  bring  in  fish-balls,  and  the  bawls 
of  the  brat  that  stubs  his  toe  and  falls  down,  but 
these  and  many  others  will  naturally  occur  to  you 
without  being  specifically  mentioned. 

Ingalls  did  not,  however,  always  write  humor 
ously  to  his  children.  Concerning  her  approach 
ing  marriage  he  wrote  his  daughter  Ethel  a  beau 
tiful  and  affectionate  letter: 

We  are  not,  as  a  family,  very  effusive,  nor  much 
given  to  demonstration.  "We  do  not  "wear  our 
hearts  upon  our  sleeve  for  daws  to  peck  at", 
though  I  have  no  doubt  we  feel  as  deeply  as 
those  who  profess  more  profusely. 

I  have  thought  much  during  the  solitude  of 
my  voyage,  while  looking  at  the  incessant  fluctu 
ations  and  vague  horizon  of  the  sea,  of  an  ap 
proaching  separation,  with  the  regrets  that  al 
ways  accompany  such  epochs,  for  the  delinquen 
cies  and  errors  that  are  irreparable,  and  which 
we  deplore  when  it  is  too  late  to  make  amends. 
While  on  some  accounts  I  am  sorry  that  you  have 
concluded  to  marry,  on  others  I  perhaps  should  be 
glad :  for  while  no  station  is  exempt  from  sorrows 
which  are  inseparable  from  human  life,  a  happy 
marriage  no  doubt  has  a  preponderance  of  bless 
ings,  and  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  man 

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HOME    LIFE 

you  have  chosen  are  such  as  to  justify  any  rea 
sonable  anticipations  of  felicity.  No  choice  could 
have  been  more  acceptable  to  me,  since  a  choice 
had  to  be  made,  and  I  am  sure  that  it  will  be  a 
consolation  to  you  to  know  that  my  judgment  and 
my  affection  approve  the  dictates  of  your  own. 
You  have  been  a  good  child,  and  none  can  ever 
have  a  higher  or  more  tender  appreciation  of 
your  personal  charms,  and  the  graces  of  your 
life  and  demeanor  than  your  mother  and  myself. 
I  regret  that  on  account  of  the  misfortunes  and 
burden  of  these  troublous  times,  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  do  as  much  for  you  as  I  could  wish,  but 
fortunately  your  aspirations  have  never  been  ex 
travagant,  so  that  we  shall,  I  hope,  be  able  to 
meet  your  reasonable  expectations. 

Of  his  mother  he  wrote  Marion  from  Tucson 
not  long  before  his  death,  saying : 

Your  grandmother  was  born  March  15,  1812, 
and  will  be  eighty-eight  years  old  in  a  few  weeks. 
She  is  a  very  remarkable  woman  physically  and 
mentally.  She  never  had  much  strength,  and 
her  health  always  seemed  fragile.  She  suffered 
greatly  in  her  earlier  life  from  sick  headaches 
and  sleeplessness.  She  ate  but  little  and  never 
took  much  exercise.  She  was  always  slight  and 
delicate,  and  had  none  of  the  indications  of  long 
life.  So,  it  would  seem  that  longevity  is  an  in- 

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HOME    LIFE 

^ 

heritance,  rather  than  an  attainment,  and  de 
pends  little  upon  habits  and  conduct  and  ways  of 
living.  Her  mind  is  quite  as  extraordinary,  and 
her  memory,  perceptions,  and  interest  in  life  have 
been  preserved  without  abatement.  While  not 
highly  educated,  nor  a  great  reader,  nor  in  any 
sense  a  student,  she  has  always  kept  acquainted 
with  what  was  going  on  in  the  world,  and  her 
recollection  of  recent  events  is  quite  as  acute  as 
that  of  the  affairs  of  her  distant  childhood  and 
youth.  Nothing  can  be  more  instructive  and  en 
tertaining  than  her  descriptions  of  the  dress,  and 
housekeeping,  and  habits  of  people  seventy-five 
years  ago,  before  there  were  any  railroads,  or 
steamboats,  or  telegraph,  or  telephones,  or  sew 
ing  machines,  or  electric  lights,  or  friction 
matches,  or  photographs,  or  street  cars,  or  any 
of  the  conveniences  now  considered  so  indispens 
able  in  modern  life.  She  thinks  there  was  quite  as 
much  happiness  and  more  contentment  then  than 
now.  She  was  a  very  kind  and  faithful  mother 
to  us  all,  but  never  affectionate  nor  demonstra 
tive,  though  no  doubt  she  felt  quite  as  deeply 
as  those  who  make  more  fuss.  I  don't  think  she 
was  very  li religious"  as  that  word  is  commonly 
used,  though  she  "belonged  to  the  church",  and 
attended  worship  regularly  till  recently.  She 
was  very  ambitious  and  "practical".  She  liked 
wealth,  and  success,  and  rank,  and  station,  and 

64 


HOME    LIFE 

good  clothes,  but  she  has  the  philosophic  spirit, 
and  never  to  my  recollection,  found  fault  with 
fortune,  nor  complained  because  any  of.  her 
wishes  were  not  gratified. 


65 


RELIGION 


RELIGION 


Ingalls,  like  Omar,  believed  that  no  man  ever 
pierced  the  secret, —  that  no  man  ever  drew  aside 
the  veil  of  fate.  With  Taine,  he  was  of  the 
opinion  "that  primitive  religions  are  born  at  the 
awakening  of  human  reason,  during  the  richest 
blossoming  of  human  imagination,  at  a  time  of 
the  fairest  artlessness  and  the  greatest  credulity. 
—  that  whatever  develops  credulity  side  by  side 
with  a  poetical  conception  of  the  world  engen 
ders  religion". 

To  the  bold  and  independent  intellect  of  In 
galls  these  principles  appealed.  The  origin  of 
religions  and  the  development  of  deities,  as  stated 
by  Kenan,  appeared  reasonable  to  Ingalls.  He  did 
riot,  however,  accept  fully  the  views  of  these 
brilliant  Frenchmen. 

To  him  the  fact  that  the  soul  was  prone  to 
grope  in  the  obscurity  veiling  the  purpose  and 
destiny  of  man  was  proof  that  there  was  some 
attribute  in  his  spiritual  nature  which  compelled 

69 


RELIGION 

(£ 

the  birth  of  primitive  religions  at  the  awakening 
of  human  reason, —  a  cause  lying  behind  the 
unrent  veil,  an  inherent  desire  for  immortality, 
a  profound  aspiration. 

Upon  this  attribute,  dimly  discerned,  faintly 
felt,  feebly  manifested,  man  reared  such  rude 
systems  as  his  environment  enabled  him  to  evolve. 

These  conceptions  did  not  carry  Ingalls  into 
the  hopeless  fields  of  materialism.  Beyond  the 
position  that  our  knowledge  is  not  sufficient  to 
warrant  any  definite  determination  of  the  su 
preme  problems  of  man's  existence  here  he  did 
not  go.  Standing  back  in  that  era  of  "the  awak 
ening  of  human  reason"  to  which  this  process 
carried  him,  he  could  see  what  our  progenitors, 
for  want  of  human  experience,  could  not  discern, 
—  the  wrecks  of  numberless  systems  abandoned 
along  the  course  over  which  mankind  had  taken 
way.  Seeing  these,  he  realized  the  futility  of 
formulating  metaphysical  schemes. 

To  sustain  his  "profound  aspiration"  to  im 
mortality  he,  like  Plato,  had  recourse  to  reason. 
"Inasmuch,"  he  says,  "as  both  force  and  matter 
are  infinite  and  indestructible,  and  can  neither  be 
added  to  nor  subtracted  from,  it  follows  that  in 

70 


RELIGION 

some  form  we  have  always  existed,  and  that  we 
shall  continue  in  some  form  to  exist  forever. " 

This  lacks  only  the  principle  of  evolution  to 
constitute  a  basis  for  endless  progress.  But  this 
essential  he  seems  to  reject.  "Evolution,  metemp 
sychosis,  reincarnation,  are  not  beliefs.  They  are 
parts  of  speech,  interesting  only  to  the  compiler 
of  lexicons." 

His  strongest  terms  of  disapprobation  became 
a  confession  to  lack  of  knowledge.  He  did  not 
deny  nor  condemn, —  his  position  forbade  that. 
He  did  not  know.  Beyond  that  he  could  never 
go.  "Whence  we  came  into  this  life  no  one 
knows,"  he  exclaims.  Perhaps  the  most  definite 
and  confident  utterance  of  Ingalls  on  this  point 
is  to  be  found  in  his  oration  delivered  in  the 
Senate  on  the  death  of  Senator  Hill,  of  Georgia. 
He  was  then  at  the  zenith  of  his  intellectual 
power,  and  what  he  said  in  that  period  of  his  life 
must  be  regarded  as  his  settled  conviction: 

Ben  Hill  has  gone  to  the  undiscovered  country. 

Whether  his  journey  thither  was  but  one  step 
across  an  imperceptible  frontier,  or  whether  an 
interminable  ocean,  black,  unfluctuating,  and 
voiceless,  stretches  between  these  earthly  coasts 
and  those  invisible  shores  —  we  do  not  know. 

71 


RELIGION 

% 

"Whether  on  that  August  morning  after  death 
he  saw  a  more  glorious  sun  rise  with  unimagin 
able  splendor  above  a  celestial  horizon,  or  whether 
his  apathetic  and  unconscious  ashes  still  sleep  in 
cold  obstruction  and  insensible  oblivion  —  we 
do  not  know. 

Whether  his  strong  and  subtle  energies  found 
instant  exercise  in  another  forum ;  whether  his 
dexterous  and  disciplined  faculties  are  now  con 
tending  in  a  higher  Senate  than  ours  for  suprem 
acy;  or  whether  his  powers  were  dissipated  and 
dispersed  with  his  parting  breath  —  we  do  not 
know. 

Whether  his  passions,  ambitions,  and  affections 
still  sway,  attract,  and  impel ;  whether  he  yet  re 
members  us  as  we  remember  him  —  we  do  not 
know. 

These  are  the  unsolved,  the  insoluble  problems 
of  mortal  life  and  human  destiny,  which  prompted 
the  troubled  patriarch  to  ask  that  momentous 
question  for  which  the  centuries  have  given  no 
answer:  "If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?" 

Every  man  is  the  center  of  a  circle  whose  fatal 
circumference  he  cannot  pass.  Within  its  nar 
row  confines  he  is  potential,  beyond  it  he  perishes ; 
and  if  immortality  be  a  splendid  but  delusive 
dream,  if  the  incompleteness  of  every  career,  even 
the  longest  and  most  fortunate,  be  not  supple 
mented  and  perfected  after  its  termination  here, 

72 


RELIGION 

then  he  who  dreads  to  die  should  fear  to  live,  for 
life  is  a  tragedy  more  desolate  and  inexplicable 
than  death. 

These  principles  were  reiterated  by  Ingalls  less 
than  four  months  before  his  death  in  his  article 
—"The  Immortality  of  the  Soul".  That  he  died 
immovable  in  their  truth  there  can  be  no  doubt. 


II. 


Of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Ingalls  said,  "He  is  the 
central  character  of  human  destiny,  the  one  colos 
sal  figure  of  human  history."  But  in  this  he  is 
not  to  be  understood  as  subscribing  to  the  plan  of 
redemption  of  souls  said  by  His  followers  to  have 
been  proclaimed  by  Him.  Rather,  His  teachings 
are  to  more  and  more  prove  the  germs  from 
which  political  progress  and  higher  civilization 
must  develop. 

The  central  idea  of  Christianity,  as  now  pro 
mulgated,  is  the  resurrection.  "If  Christ  be  not 
raised,  your  faith  is  vain,"  wrote  Paul  to  the 
Corinthians,  and,  he  continues,  "they  also  which 
are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are  perished."  "If 
in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are 

73 


RELIGION 

m 

of  all  men  most  miserable,"  he  warns  the  world 
ly-minded.  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life, 
saith  the  Lord:  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though 
he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live :  and  whosoever 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die," 
wrote  the  Beloved  Disciple.  The  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  as  held  by  the  Church,  rests  mainly  on 
the  utterances  of  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 
But  for  himself,  Ingalls  swept  this  away  with  a 
stroke  of  his  pen, — "  Saint  Paul,  the  greatest  of 
the  teachers  of  Christianity,  could  only  respond 
by  a  misleading  analogy.  He  knew  the  wheat 
which  is  reaped  is  not  that  which  is  sown.  The 
harvest  is  a  succession,  not  a  resurrection." 

But  even  here  Ingalls  did  not  lapse  into  the 
despair  of  atheism.  Writing  to  his  father  of  the 
death  of  his  son  Addison,  he  said:  "His  sweet 
soul  vanished  into  the  Unknown.  Yesterday  be 
neath  the  clear  sky  that  brooded  above  us  like 
a  covenant  of  peace,  we  laid  him  to  sleep  beside 
his  sister,  to  wait  the  solution  of  the  great  mys 
tery  of  existence  when  earth  and  sea  shall  give 
up  their  dead.  That  I  may  meet  him  again  in 
the  great  Hereafter  is  a  profound  aspiration 
rather  than  a  living  faith,  but  if  eternity  will 

74 


RELIGION 

release  its  treasures,  sometime  I  shall  claim  my 
own." 

Pie  regarded  the  question  of  Job,  "If  a  man  die, 
shall  he  live  again?"  the  everlasting  interrog 
atory. 

A  Supreme  Being,  Ingalls  seemed  to  admit,  but 
of  what  order,  nature,  degree,  glory,  he  did  not 
affirm.  ''Faith  in  a  Supreme  Being,"  he  said,  "in 
immortality  and  the  compensations  of  eternity 
conduces  powerfully  to  social  order  by  enabling 
men  to  endure  with  composure  the  injustice  of 
this  world  in  the  hope  of  reparation  in  that  which 
is  to  come." 

The  position  finally  assumed  by  Ingalls  was 
due  somewhat  to  a  revulsion  from  the  harsh  the 
ology  of  Calvin,  at  one  time  so  deeply  rooted  in 
New  England.  He  was  to  some  extent  a  disciple 
of  Carlyle,  though  he  could  never  have  been  pre 
vailed  upon  to  admit  it,  and  life  became  a  matter 
of  wonder  and  increasing  mystery.  "After  all," 
he  wrote  his  father,  "whether  well  or  ill,  the  long 
est  life  is  but  a  brief  pulsation,  like  the  momen 
tary  flash  of  a  firefly  in  a  garden  at  night:  and 
whether  its  transitory  torch  is  to  be  extinguished 
forever  or  to  be  relighted  and  burn  eternally,  we 
hope  and  dream,  but  know  not." 

75 


RELIGION 

m. 

In  the  contemplation  of  immortality  and  the 
inscrutable  mystery  of  human  life  Ingalls  said 
that: 

Our  appearance  here  is  not  voluntary.  We 
are  sent  to  this  planet  on  some  mysterious  er 
rand  without  being  consulted  in  advance.  Many 
of  us  would  not  have  come  had  the  opportunity 
to  decline,  with  thanks,  been  presented. 

To  multitudes  life  is  an  inconceivable  insult 
and  injury,  an  intolerable  affront;  torture  and 
wretchedness  indescribable  from  poverty,  disease, 
grief,  Fortune's  slings  and  arrows;  wrongs  de 
liberately  inflicted  by  some  unknown  malignant 
power,  as  Job  was  tormented  by  the  devil,  with 
the  consent  of  God,  just  to  try  him,  till  at  last 
the  troubled  patriarch  cursed  the  day  he  was 
born. 

Worst  of  all,  we  are  sent  here  under  sentence 
of  death.  The  most  grievous  and  humiliating 
punishment  man  can  inflict  upon  the  criminal  is 
death. 

Human  tribunals  give  the  malefactor  a  chance. 
His  crime  must  be  proved.  He  can  put  in  his 
defense.  He  can  appear  by  attorney  and  plead 
and  take  appeal.  But  we  are  all  condemned  to 
death  beforehand.  The  accusation  and  the  ac 
cuser  are  unknown.  An  inexorable  verdict  has 

76 


RELIGION 

been  pronounced  and  recorded  in  the  secret  coun 
cils  of  the  skies.  We  are  neither  confronted  with 
the  witness  nor  allowed  a  day  in  court.  From 
the  hour  of  birth  we  are  beset  by  invulnerable 
and  invisible  enemies,  the  pestilence  that  walketh 
in  darkness  and  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at 
noonday.  Fatal  germs,  immortal  bacilli,  heaven 
sent  microbes,  inhabit  the  air  we  breathe,  the  food 
we  eat,  the  water  we  drink,  poisoning  where  they 
fly  and  infecting  where  they  repose. 

Science  continually  discloses  malevolent  agen 
cies,  hitherto  undetected,  which  we  vainly  try  to 
extirpate,  or  to  build  frail  and  feeble  barriers 
against  their  depredations. 

Theology  complacently  announces  that  for  the 
majority  of  the  human  race  this  tough  world  is 
the  prelude  to  an  eternity  in  hell.  .  .  . 

Nature,  like  a  witness  in  contempt,  stands  mute. 
Science  returns  from  the  remotest  excursions, 
shakes  its  head,  and,  smiling,  puts  the  question 
by.  Christ  contented  Himself  with  a  few  vague 
and  unsatisfactory  generalities.  .  .  . 

The  evidence  of  a  superintending  moral  pur 
pose  and  design  in  the  affairs  of  men  are  faint  and 
few.  The  wicked  prosper,  the  good  suffer.  The 
problems  of  sin,  pain,  and  evil  are  insoluble. 
Visiting  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children 
to  the  third  and  fourth  generation,  making  the 
innocent  suffer  for  the  offences  of  the  guilty,  is 

77 


KELIGION  . 

an  unjust  and  cruel  law  that  ought  to  be  repealed. 
Civilization  has  long  since  rejected  the  principle 
from  human  jurisprudence.  Even  treason,  the 
highest  crime  known  to  its  code,  no  longer  works 
corruption  of  blood  or  forfeiture  of  estate. 

Unless  man  is  immortal,  the  moral  universe,  so 
far  as  he  is  concerned,  disappears  altogether.  If 
he  does  not  survive  the  grave,  it  makes  no  differ 
ence  to  him  whether  there  be  God  or  devil,  or 
heaven  or  hell.  And  it  must  be  not  only  a  sur 
vival,  but  a  continuity  of  consciousness  as  well,  if 
the  evil  are  to  be  punished  and  the  good  rewarded 
hereafter. 

Ingalls  believed  mankind  was  making  progress 
in  the  science  of  religion  —  in  the  science  of  god- 
making.  He  knew  what  every  priest  is  anxious 
that  his  parishioner  shall  never  know  —  that  the 
term  "religion"  is  of  universal  application,  and 
that  it  embraces  the  crude  incantations  and  de 
ceptions  of  the  Medicine  Man  as  well  as  the  ten 
ets  of  Christianity.  Savage  practices  no  more 
condemn  the  one  than  do  refined  cruelties  and 
polished  amenities  establish  the  other: 

There  was  a  profound  truth  in  the  declaration 
of  Voltaire,  that  if  there  was  no  God,  it  would 
be  necessary  for  man  to  invent  one.  God  is  indis 
pensable  [to  man].  As  the  race  advances,  it 

78 


RELIGION 

clothes  God  with  higher  attributes  and  dignifies 
Him  with  more  lofty  functions.  The  gloomy  and 
inexorable  God  of  the  Puritans  has  disappeared. 
He  has  been  succeed: a  by  a  Supreme  Being  of  in 
finite  mercy,  tenderness,  and  goodness;  a  ruler,  a 
law-maker,  subject  to  limitations  and  restraints 
imposed  by  His  own  perfections. 

Opposition  to  Christianity,  or  any  other  re 
ligion,  is  no  indication  of  infidelity,  he  argued, 
"but  rather  the  strongest  evidence  of  the  relig 
ious  spirit  of  the  times,  .  .  .  the  hunger  and 
thirst  for  knowledge  about  what  can  never  be 
known". 

So  impenetrable  did  he  regard  the  veil  which 
hides  the  future  that  he  expected  another  Christ 
and  new  revelations.  But  even  these  will  prove 
insufficient  and  unsatisfactory,  as  have  all  others, 
for  in  this  field  alone  has  no  progress  been  made, 
as  witness  his  belief  declared  in  his  estimate  of 
the  book  of  Job: 

The  book  of  Job  is  the  oldest,  and  in  my  judg 
ment,  the  highest  production  of  the  human  intel 
lect.  It  is  especially  interesting  because  it  shows 
that  humanity  at  the  dawn  of  history  was  en 
gaged  in  considering  the  same  problems  that  per 
plex  us  now  —  immortality,  the  existence  of  evil, 

79 


RELIGION 

• 
the  afflictions  and  misfortunes  of  the  good  in  this 

world,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked.  We 
have  made  no  progress  in  solving  these  problems. 
The  barriers  are  insurmountable.  The  centuries 
are  silent.  The  soul  struggles,  aspires,  beats  its 
wings  against  the  bars,  flutters,  and  disappears. 

All  this  is  grounded  in  human  experience  — 
nay,  more  than  that, —  in  the  inherent  qualities 
of  the  nature  of  man.  And,  Ingalls  believed  — 
rightly  —  that  sin,  wickedness,  wretchedness  are 
necessary  to  our  progress  —  indispensable  to  our 
very  existence: 

Poverty  will  never  be  abolished,  nor  misery,  nor 
pain,  nor  disease.  They  are  inseparable  from 
humanity.  Were  all  men  contented  and  secure, 
progress  would  cease  and  the  race  would  expire. 

This,  in  a  more  delicate  and  cautious  way,  is 
the  ruthless  trampling  under  foot  of  temporary 
systems  and  agreed  conventionalities  so  extens 
ively  practiced  by  Carlyle.  Completed  and  sta 
tionary  institutions  for  man's  redemption  Ingalls 
regarded  with  that  independence  and  that  reck 
less  scorn  peculiar  to  his  Scandinavian-Germanic 
ancestry. 


80 


KELIGION 
IV. 

The  contemplation  of  the  mystery  of  this  life 
did  not  react  upon  Ingalls  to  produce  melancholy 
or  misanthropy.  In  a  letter  to  his  wife,  he  said, 
"Life  to  me  is  so  vivid  and  intense,  like  an  eager 
flame,  that  pain,  disease,  weakness,  annihilation 
seem  monstrous  and  intolerable." 

He  loved  life.  Its  enjoyment  was  precious  to 
him,  some  expression  of  which  we  find  in  his 
writings.  As  early  as  1872,  in  a  letter  to  his 
father  on  a  Thanksgiving  anniversary,  he  said: 

I  have  thought  much  to-day  of  the  long  career 
of  my  life,  which  has  been  extended  so  long  be 
yond  my  early  anticipations,  and  rendered  cjon- 
spicuous  by  so  many  blessings  which  I  am  con 
scious  I  have  not  deserved  and  which  I  never 
hoped  to  enjoy.  Standing  upon  the  uplands  of 
middle  life,  my  childhood  and  youth  seem  like 
the  experiences  of  another  planet,  and  though  I 
have  suffered  much  from  the  tortures  of  dis 
turbed  functions,  diseased  nerves,  sensibilities  un 
naturally  acute,  the  war  in  my  members  between 
the  spirit  and  the  flesh,  the  agonies  of  conflict  be 
tween  unconquerable  appetites,  passions,  impulses 
and  ambitions,  and  a  conscience  too  sensitive  to 
submit  to  moral  anodynes,  yet  I  have  much  to 

81 


KELIGION 

• 

recall  with  gratitude  to  some  Benign  Power  that 
has  given  me  a  moderate  measure  of  worldly 
success,  a  modest  competence,  and  a  reasonable 
assurance  of  the  esteem  of  my  fellows;  a  happy 
home,  and  hopeful  children  whom  it  shall  be  my 
chief  care  to  teach  to  shun  the  errors  that  have 
been  my  bane. 

I  have  thought  much  also  of  that  benevolent 
destiny  that  has  protracted  an  existence  as  a 
family,  unbroken  through  so  many  years;  that 
gave  to  us  in  our  early  years  the  benefit  and 
advantage  of  parental  restraint  and  care,  and  has 
given  to  you  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  prac 
tical  result  of  your  anxiety  and  toil,  and  the  es 
tablishment  of  your  children  in  reputable  posi 
tions  in  widely  disassociated  spheres  of  life. 

As  time  passes  on,  the  burden  of  existence  be 
comes  more  grievous :  these  anniversaries,  once 
so  bright  and  festal,  grow  ominous  with  shadows, 
and  have  a  deep,  sad  and  solemn  significance. 
Laden  with  the  inexpressible  pathos,  the  yearning 
regrets,  the  farewells  of  the  past,  its  melancholy 
and  its  external  pain,  they  also  point  with  pro 
phetic  augury  to  the  future,  near  or  far,  when 
anniversaries  shall  be  no  more.  How  happy  they 
who  live  so  that  they  are  not  afraid  to  die !  —  I 
trust  that  we  may  know  many  returns  of  this 
ancient  festival,  but  more  than  that,  I  hope  that 
when  on  some  future  Thanksgiving,  the  last  sur- 

82 


RELIGION 

vivor  of  us  all  recalls  the  vivid  memories  of 
those  who  have  gone  before,  no  grief  may  dim 
his  vision  save  that  which  separation  always 
brings,  and  that  he  may  confidently  and  grate 
fully  anticipate  the  hour  which  shall  summon 
him  to  join  a  reunited  family  in  a  brighter  world 
than  this:  a  world  which  shall  seem  as  the  glori 
ous  wakening  from  a  fevered  dream,  where  sor 
row  has  no  dominion,  where  distance  cannot  sep 
arate,  where  time  cannot  chill,  and  the  tragic 
limitations  of  earthly  being  are  forever  unknown. 

The  references  here  to  "a  reunited  family  in  a 
brighter  world,  where  sorrow  has  no  dominion", 
and  "time  cannot  chill",  are  reversions  to  the 
Calvinistic  sermons  impatiently  heard  on  Thanks 
givings  in  youth  in  New  England,  and  must  not 
be  taken  as  expressing  his  own  state  or  belief. 

The  death  of  Garfield,  his  kinsman,  aroused  in 
Ingalls  the  realization  of  the  futility  of  earthly 
power  and  grandeur.  In  a  letter  to  his  father 
were  these  expressions  penned: 

To  one  unaware  of  the  tragedy  of  July,  it  would 
seem  incredible  that  within  three  months,  the 
chosen  ruler  of  a  great  nation  had  been  buried 
amid  the  grief  of  all  the  civilized  world,  and 
that  the  trial  of  his  assassin  was  proceeding  in 
sight  of  the  Capitol  from  which  the  remains  of 

83 


RELIGION 

• 

the  victim  were  so  lately  borne  to  their  last  re 
pose.  The  moralist  and  the  philosopher  might 
find  abundant  food  for  thought,  nor  could  the 
cynic  restrain  his  sneer  at  the  spectacle  presented 
by  the  thoughtless  theory  of  ambitious  aspirants 
who  have  so  readily  transferred  their  allegiance 
to  the  new  President  who  sits  in  the  Council 
Chamber  so  lately  vacated  by  the  dead.  The 
emptiness  of  fame,  the  hollow  mockery  of  friend 
ship,  the  vanity  of  ambition,  the  worthlessness  of 
power,  the  insignificance  of  man,  never  had  a 
more  striking  illustration.  "The  King  is  dead! 
Long  live  the  King!"-  — And  yet,  notwithstanding 
the  wretchedness  of  humanity,  and  the  evils  of 
human  life,  there  is  something  attractive  about 
existence.  When  digestion  is  good  and  the  nerves 
neither  too  lax  nor  too  tensely  strung,  it  is  pleas 
ant  to  eat  a  good  dinner,  to  get  a  little  drunk,  to 
smoke  a  good  cigar,  to  talk  with  bright  men  and 
women,  to  drive  in  the  woods,  to  stroll  in  the  sun, 
to  get  into  a  row  occasionally  if  you  can  be  on 
top,  to  sleep  and  wake,  to  play  with  children,  to 
read  good  books,  and  wonder  what  life  means, 
and  to  what  it  leads,  how  we  got  here  and  where 
we  are  going;  a  perplexing  riddle  which  has  not 
been  solved. 

This  was  the  blind  beating  of  the  immortal  in 
man  against  the  bars  of  the  earthly  prison  of  this 

84 


RELIGION 

life  with  its  vexing  and  distracting  limitations.  Of 
the  same  nature  is  the  "  everlasting  interroga 
tory"  of  Job.  The  same  problems  troubled  the 
Preacher  of  Wisdom,  who  saw  "in  human  en 
quiry  no  attainment,  in  the  succession  of  events 
no  advance,  in  the  succession  of  human  genera 
tions  no  continuity",  and  who  saw  the  tragedy 
of  Life  in  the  "Coming  of  the  Evil  Days",  when 

"The  years  draw  nigh, 
When  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them: 

Or  ever  the  sun 

And  the  light, 

And  the  moon, 

And  the   stars, 
Be    darkened, 
And   the   clouds   return    after   the   rain: 

In  the  day  when  the  keepers  of  the  house  shall  tremble, 

And  the  strong  men  shall  bow  themselves, 

And  the  grinders   cease  because  they  are  few, 

And  those  that  look  out  of  the  windows  be  darkened, 

And  the  doors  shall  be  shut  in  the  street; 

When  the  sound  of  the  grinding  is  low, 

And  one  shall  rise  up  at  the  voice  of  a  bird, 

And  all  the  daughters  of  music  shall  be  brought  low; 

Yea,  they  shall  be  afraid  of  that  which  is  high, 
And  terrors  shall  be  in  the  way: 

And  the  almond  tree  shall  blossom, 
And  the  grasshopper  shall  be  a  burden, 
And  the  caperberry  shall  burst: 

85 


RELIGION 

Because  man  goeth  to  his  long  home,     • 
And  the  mourners  go  about  the  streets: 

Or  ever  the  silver  cord  be  loosed, 

Or  the  golden  bowl  be  broken, 

Or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at  the  fountain, 

Or  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern: 

And   the    dust   return   to   the   earth, 

As  it  was; 
And  the   spirit   return   unto    God 

Who  gave  it".* 

*  Dr.  Moulton's  version.     Quoted  from  his  Ecclesiastes. 

V. 

As  his  years  increased  a  sense  of  death  abode 
with  Ingalls.  And  so  it  does  with  every  reflect 
ing  man.  It  is  said  that  Egyptians  of  the  upper 
class  kept  memory  and  thought  of  death  ever 
present  by  the  exhibition  at  feasts  of  a  human 
skeleton.  To  the  Anglo-Saxons  death  is  the  King 
of  Terrors,  but  to  that  people  has  been  given 
that  fortitude  with  which  death  is  contemplated 
in  quiescence  and  with  tranquillity.  In  this  mood 
Ingalls  wrote  his  wife  near  the  close  of  the  year 
1890: 

The  clouds  are  steamy  and  still.  The  world  is 
so  lovely  at  its  best,  and  life  so  delightful,  that  I 
dread  the  thought  of  leaving  it.  I  have  seen  and 

86 


RELIGION 

experienced  so  little  of  what  may  be  seen  and 
known  that  it  seems  like  closing  a  volume  of 
which  I  have  only  glanced  at  the  title-page.  But 
so  many  are  taking  their  leave,  and  I  have  al 
ready  survived  so  large  a  number  of  my  contem 
poraries,  that  I  must  contemplate  my  departure 
with  the  rest.  I  thought  as  I  lay  in  bed  this 
morning,  having  waked  early,  what  an  uncivil 
host  life  is,  to  invite  us  to  an  entertainment  which 
we  are  compelled  to  attend  whether  we  like  it  or 
not,  and  then  to  unceremoniously  take  us  by  the 
arm  and  bow  us  out  into  the  night,  stormy  and 
dismal,  to  go  stumbling  about  without  so  much  as 
a  lantern  to  show  us  the  way  to  another  town. — 
To  continue  in  the  same  strain  of  reflection,  our 
ground  in  the  cemetery  should  have  a  "  Monu 
ment".  I  hate  these  obelisks,  urns,  and  stone 
cottages,  and  should  prefer  a  great  natural  rock 

—  one  of  the  red  boulders  —  known  as  the  "lost 
rocks"  of  the  prairie  —  porphyry  from  the  North 

—  brought  down  in  glacier  times  —  with  a  small 
surface  smoothed  down  —  just  large  enough  to 
make  a  tablet  in  which  should  be  inserted  the 
bronze    letters    of    our    name — "Ingalls" — and 
nothing  else. 

And,  so,  this  man  of  dilatory  habit,  but  of  mind 
acute  and  sensitive,  tensely-strung  and  cast  of 
the  genius  of  the  Saxons,  of  whom  he  came,  went 

87 


RELIGION 

4£ 

down  to  the  grave  without  fear  —  in  reverence 
and  in  agnosticism.  With  Omar  of  old,  he  be 
lieved  ''this  world's  phantasmagoria  is  a  vision, 
which  rises  from  a  boundless  ocean,  and  sinks 
again  into  the  same  ocean  from  which  it  arose". 


88 


LITERATURE 


LITERATURE 
I. 

Ingalls  did  his  best  literary  work  before  his 
election  to  the  Senate.  After  that  other  matters 
occupied  his  time  and  diverted  his  attention. 
But  for  many  years  it  was  his  cherished  ambi 
tion  to  retire  from  politics  and  lead  a  sort  of  soli 
tary  secluded  life,  the  details  of  which  were  vague 
and  indefinite  in  his  own  mind.  Fortunately  this 
longing  of  the  soul  was  never  gratified.  Life  has 
its  times  and  its  seasons,  the  mind  its  epochs  and 
its  eras.  What  a  man  may  excel  in  at  one  period 
he  may  not  be  able  to  achieve  in  another,  even 
though  his  powers  be  not  abated  nor  his  intellect 
diminished.  Emotion  depends  much  on  precari 
ous  circumstance,  and  the  capacity  for  its  expres 
sion  may  be  lost  or  smothered  by  baser  things. 
The  mind  treasures  former  joys,  and  as  age  creeps 
on  reversion  to  them  increases.  Man  becomes 
reflective,  and  the  contemplation  of  the  events  of 
early  life  becomes  his  chief  pleasure.  Fancy  flat 
ters  him  with  the  delusion  that  former  achieve- 

91 

—7 


LITERATURE 

ments  could  be  successfully  repeated,  though  the 
black  raven  of  experience  croaks  the  hoarse  and 
disconsolate  note  —  Nevermore ! 

The  literary  reputation  of  Ingalls  must  rest 
mainly  upon  his  writings  known  as  the  "Kansas 
Magazine  Articles,"  a  series  of  essays  written  for 
a  chance  publication  of  the  prairies,  a  brilliant 
child  of  Kansas,  of  birth  premature  by  a  full 
half -century. 

The  inspiration  for  these  charming  productions 
Ingalls  found  in  Kansas.  He  had  previously  writ 
ten  much,  but  it  was  flat  and  stale, —  nothing  that 
the  world  cares  to  see  or  preserve.  He  had  not 
then  been  stirred.  But,  standing  on  the  rugged 
bluffs  of  the  winding  Missouri  he  was  powerfully 
moved.  The  vast  expanse  of  rolling  prairie  and 
woodland,  the  illimitable  azure  reaches  where 
"  Triangles  of  wild  geese  harrowed  the  blue  fields 
of  the  sky",  the  purple  haze  mellowing  the  hori 
zon  into  an  amethyst  ocean,  aroused  in  him  emo 
tions  which  he  described  and  made  immortal. 

Combined  with  the  glory  of  the  landscape  were 
the  rattle  of  steel  and  the  clash  of  civilizations. 
The  Puritan  and  the  Cavalier,  in  their  migra 
tions  westward,  met  at  the  cross-roads  of  Kansas. 

92 


LITERATURE 

Men  marched  and  fought,  slew  one  another  and 
devastated  fields,  pulled  down  houses  and  ruined 
homes.  Flames  rolling  red  against  the  midnight 
sky  told  of  towns  sacked  and  settlements  de 
stroyed.  In  the  scathing  arraignment  of  border- 
ruffians  Ingalls  perched  on  crags  of  sarcastic  de 
nunciation  inaccessible  to  any  coming  after  him. 
The  first  of  these  graphic  delineations  he  termed 
"Catfish  Aristocracy".  Only  in  one  instance  did 
he  ever  surpass  it.  Its  scene  was  laid  on  one  of 
those  temporary  and  precarious  fiats  cast  up  by 
the  Missouri  River,  the  building  of  which  no 
other  writer  need  now  ever  attempt  to  describe : 

Born  of  a  snag,  a  wreck,  an  adverse  gale,  a 
sunken  floater,  anything  that  can  afford  brief 
lodgment  for  accumulation,  these  accretions  may 
dissolve  and  vanish  with  the  next  "rise",  or  they 
may  mysteriously  elevate  themselves  above  the 
level  of  the  water,  give  root  to  wind-sown  willows, 
cottonwoods,  elms,  and  sycamores,  an  anonymous 
growth  of  feculent  herbage  and  festering,  crawl 
ing  weeds,  but  never  a  bright  blade  of  wholesome 
grass,  a  lovely  bud  or  flower. 

Malarious  brakes  and  jungles  suddenly  exhale 
from  the  black  soil,  in  whose  loathsome  recesses 
the  pools  of  pure  rain  change  by  some  horrible 
alchemy  into  green  ooze  and  bubbly  slime,  breed- 

93 


LITERATURE 

% 

ing  reptiles  and  vermin  that  creep  and  fly,  infect 
ing  earth  and  air  with  their  venom,  fatal  alike 
to  action  and  repose.  Gigantic  parasites  smother 
and  strangle  the  huge  trunks  they  embrace,  turn 
ing  them  into  massive  columns  of  verdure,  chang 
ing  into  crimson  like  that  of  blood  when  smitten 
by  the  frosts  of  October.  Pendulous,  leafless  vines 
dismally  sway  from  the  loftiest  trees  like  gallows 
without  their  tenants.  Deadly  vapors,  and  snaky, 
revolting  odors,  begotten  of  decay,  brood  in  the 
perpetual  gloom. 

If  not  too  soon  undermined  by  the  insidious 
chute  gnawing  at  its  foundation  of  quaking  quick 
sands,  this  foul  alluvion  becomes  subject  to  local 
government,  and,  under  a  mistaken  idea  that  it  is 
a  component  part  of  this  sure  and  firm-set  earth, 
is  surveyed  and  taxed.  Its  useless  forests  are 
deadened,  and  the  ruined  boles  stand  like  grizzly 
phantoms  in  the  waste.  A  zig-zag  pen  of  rotten 
rails  creeps  round  a  hovel  of  decayed  logs  with 
mud-daubed  interstices  that  seem  to  spring  like 
a  congenial  exhalation  from  the  ground.  In  the 
uncouth  but  appropriate  phraseology  of  its  deni 
zens,  it  is  <l cleared  bottom",  and  has  become  the 
abode  of  the  catfish  aristocrat.  It  was  amid 
such  surroundings  that  I  first  met  Shang,  the 
Grand  Duke  of  this  order  of  nobility.  Thus  he 
had  always  lived ;  thus  his  ancestors,  if  he  had 
any;  and  thus  he  and  his  successors,  heirs,  and 

94 


LITERATURE 

assigns  will  continue  to  live  till  education,  relig 
ion,  and  development  shall  render  him  and  his 
congeners  as  impossible  as  the  monsters  that  tore 
each  other  in  the  period  of  the  Jurassic  group. 

"Shang,  the  Grand  Duke"  of  catfish  aristoc 
racy,  was  representative  of  a  type  of  border  char 
acters.  Of  this  type  Ingalls  continues: 

Perhaps  the  most  marked  and  ineradicable  out 
ward  distinction  is  the  manner  in  which  they  re 
spond  to  a  question  imperfectly  understood.  The 
one,  squirting  a  gourdful  of  tobacco  juice  into  the 
jimson-weeds,  with  a  prolonged,  rising  inflection, 
drawls  out,  "Whi-i-ich?"  The  other  stops  whit 
tling,  or  lays  down  The  Kansas  Magazine,  and 
jerks  out,  "Haouw?" 

Beware  of  the  creature  that  says  ''Which?" 
and  shun  the  vicinage  wherein  he  dwells !  He 
builds  no  school-house.  He  erects  no  church.  To 
his  morals  the  Sabbath  is  unknown.  To  his  in 
tellect  the  alphabet  is  superfluous.  His  premises 
have  neither  barn,  nor  cellar,  nor  well.  His  crop 
of  corn  stands  ungathered  in  the  field.  He 
"packs"  water  half  a  mile  from  the  nearest 
branch  or  spring.  His  perennial  diet  is  hog, 
smoked  and  salted  in  the  summer,  and  fresh  at 
"killin'  time".  He  delights  in  cracklins  and 
spare-ribs.  Gnashing  his  tusks  upon  the  impene 
trable  mail  of  his  corn-dodger,  he  sighs  for  the 

95 


LITERATURE 

time  of  "roas'n-eers".  He  has"  a  weakness  for 
* '  cowcumbers ' '  and  * '  watermel  'ns  " ;  but  when  he 
soars  above  the  gross  needs  of  his  common  nature 
and  strives  to  prepare  a  feast  that  shall  rival  the 
banquets  of  Lucullus,  he  spreads  his  festive  cot- 
tonwood  with  catfish  and  pawpaws. 

From  such  a  protoplasm,  or  physical  basis  of 
life,  proceeds  an  animal,  bifid,  long-haired,  unac 
customed  to  the  use  of  soap,  without  conscience 
or  right  reason,  gregarious  upon  bottom  lands, 
where  they  swarm  with  unimaginable  fecundity. 
In  time  of  peace  they  unanimously  vote  the  Demo 
cratic  ticket.  During  the  war  they  became  guer 
rillas  and  bushwhackers  under  Price,  Anderson, 
and  Quantrill;  assassins;  thugs;  poisoners  of 
wells;  murderers  of  captive  women  and  children; 
sackers  of  defenseless  towns;  house-burners; 
horse-thieves;  perpetrators  of  atrocities  that 
would  make  the  blood  of  Sepoys  run  cold. 

The  catfish  aristocrat  is  pre-eminently  the  sa 
loon-builder.  Past  generations  and  perished  races 
of  men  have  defied  oblivion  by  the  enduring 
structures  which  pride,  sorrow,  or  religion  have 
reared  to  perpetuate  the  virtues  of  the  living  or 
the  memory  of  the  dead.  Ghizeh  has  its  pyra 
mids;  Petra  its  temples;  the  Middle  Ages  their 
cathedrals;  Central  America  its  ruins;  but  Pike 
and  Posey  have  their  saloons,  where  the  patrician 
of  the  bottom  assembles  with  his  peers.  Gathered 

96 


LITERATURE 

around  a  rusty  stove  choked  with  soggy  drift 
wood,  he  drinks  sod-corn  from  a  tin  cup,  plays 
"old  sledge"  upon  the  head  of  an  empty  keg,  and 
reels  home  at  nightfall,  yelling  through  the  tim 
ber,  to  his  squalid  cabin. 

A  score  of  lean,  hungry  curs  pour  in  a  canine 
cataract  over  the  worm-fence  by  the  horse-block 
as  their  master  approaches,  baying  deep-mouthed 
welcome,  filling  the  chambers  of  the  forests  with 
hoarse  reverberations,  mingled  with  an  explosion 
of  oaths  and  frantic  imprecations.  Snoring  the 
night  away  in  drunken  slumber  under  a  heap  of 
gray  blankets,  he  crawls  into  his  muddy  jeans  at 
sun-up,  takes  a  gurgling  drink  from  a  flat  black 
bottle  stoppered  with  a  cob,  goes  to  the  log-pile 
by  the  front  door,  and  with  a  dull  ax  slabs  off  an 
armful  of  green  cottonwood  to  make  a  fire  for 
breakfast,  which  consists  of  the  inevitable  "meat 
and  bread"  and  a  decoction  of  coffee  burned  to 
charcoal  and  drank  without  milk  or  sugar.  An 
other  pull  at  the  bottle,  a  few  grains  of  quinine 
if  it  is  "ager"  day,  a  "chaw"  of  navy,  and  the 
repast  is  finished.  The  sweet  delights  of  home 
have  been  enjoyed,  and  the  spiritual  creature  goes 
forth,  invigorated  for  the  struggle  of  life,  to  re 
peat  the  exploits  of  every  yesterday  of  his  ex 
istence. 

Ingalls  knew  more  of  his  hero  than  he  revealed, 
and  admitted,  long  afterwards,  that  he  was  bright 

97 


LITEEATURE 

and  extremely  interesting.  He  had  been  a  dra 
goon  in  the  Mexican  War.  He  became  "a  private 
in  that  noble  army  of  chivalry  which  marched  to 
Kansas  to  fight  the  Puritan  idea"  in  border-ruf 
fian  days.  At  Marysville,  December  21,  1857,  he 
voted  twenty-five  times  for  the  Lecompton  consti 
tution  before  noon.  His  "  frame  was  of  unearthly 
longitude  and  unspeakable  emaciation",  and  these 
qualities  fastened  on  him  the  sobriquet  of  "Shang 
hai",  whence  Ingalls  derived  "Shang",  though 
he  says  he  could  never  discover  its  origin.  His 
name  was  Jonathan  Gardner  Lang.  He  was  "jug- 
fisherman,  melon-raiser,  truck-patch  farmer,  and 
town-drunkard",  a  later  biography  says.  He 
lived  at  Sumner,  and  Ingalls  never  tired  of  hear 
ing  his  stories,  going  with  him  sometimes  in  his 
boat  to  "jug"  for  catfish.  He  gives  us  this  de 
scription  of  his  "typical  grandee": 

I  have  heretofore  alluded  to  Shang  as  the 
typical  grandee  of  this  ichthyological  peerage. 
Whence  he  derived  the  appellation  by  which  he 
was  uniformly  known,  I  could  never  satisfactor 
ily  ascertain.  Whether  it  was  his  ancestral  title, 
or  merely  a  playful  pseudonym  bestowed  upon 
him  by  some  familiar  friend  in  affection's  most 
endearing  hours,  was  never  disclosed.  Of  his 


LITERATURE 

birth,  his  parentage,  his  antecedents,  it  were 
equally  vain  to  inquire.  He  was  unintentionally 
begotten  in  a  concupiscence  as  idle  and  thought 
less  as  that  of  dogs  or  flies  or  swine.  It  has  been 
surmised  that  he  was  evolved  from  the  minor  con 
sciousness  of  his  own  squalor,  but  this  must  al 
ways  remain  a  matter  of  conjecture. 

To  the  most  minute  observer,  his  age  was  a 
question  of  the  gravest  doubt.  He  might  have 
been  thirty,  he  might  have  been  a  century,  with 
no  violation  of  the  probabilities.  His  hair  was  a 
sandy  sorrel,  something  like  a  Rembrandt  interior, 
and  strayed  around  his  freckled  scalp  like  the  top- 
layer  of  a  hayrick  in  a  tornado.  His  eyes  were 
two  ulcers  half  filled  with  pale-blue  starch.  A 
thin,  sharp  nose  projected  above  a  lipless  mouth 
that  seemed  always  upon  the  point  of  breaking 
into  the  most  grievous  lamentations,  and  never 
opened  save  to  take  whiskey  and  tobacco  in  and 
let  oaths  and  saliva  out.  A  long,  slender  neck, 
yellow  and  wrinkled  after  the  manner  of  a  liz 
ard's  belly,  bore  this  dome  of  thought  upon  its 
summit,  itself  projecting  from  a  miscellaneous  as 
sortment  of  gents'  furnishing  goods,  which  cov 
ered  a  frame  of  unearthly  longitude  and  unspeak 
able  emaciation.  Thorns  and  thongs  supplied  the 
place  of  buttons  upon  the  costume  of  this  Brum- 
mel  of  the  bottom,  coarsely  patched  beyond  recog 
nition  of  the  original  fabric.  The  coat  had  been 

99 


LITERATURE 

constructed  for  a  giant,  the  paflts  for  a  pigmy. 
They  were  too  long  in  the  waist  and  too  short  in 
the  leg,  and  flapped  loosely  around  his  shrunk 
shanks  high  above  the  point  where  his  fearful  feet 
were  partially  concealed  by  mismated  shoes  that 
permitted  his  great  toes  to  peer  from  their  gaping 
integuments,  like  the  heads  of  two  snakes  of  a 
novel  species  and  uncommon  fetor.  The  princely 
phenomenon  was  topped  writh  a  hat  that  had 
neither  band  nor  brim  nor  crown; 

"If  that  could  shape  be  called  which  shape  had  none". 

His  voice  was  high,  shrill,  and  querulous,  and 
his  manner  an  odd  mixture  of  fawning  servility 
and  apprehensive  effrontery  at  the  sight  of  a 
"damned  Yankee  Abolitionist",  whom  he  hated 
and  feared  next  to  a  negro  who  was  not  a  slave. 

Contemplating  with  horror  the  possibility  of 
the  victory  of  Shang  in  the  Kansas  conflict,  In- 
galls  exclaims: 

It  is  appalling  to  reflect  what  the  condition  of 
Kansas  would  have  been  to-day  had  its  destiny 
been  left  in  the  hands  of  Shang  and  those  of  his 
associates  who  first  did  its  voting  and  attempted 
to  frame  its  institutions.  A  few  hundred  mush- 
eating  chawbacons,  her  only  population,  wrould 
still  have  been  chasing  their  razor-backed  hogs 
through  the  thickets  of  black-jack,  and  jugging 

100 


LITERATURE 


for  catfish  in  the  chutes  of  the  Missouri  and  the 
Kaw. 

Shang  was  not  wholly  illiterate,  for  he  read 
the  brilliant  article  of  which  he  was  the  hero. 
His  indignation  was  great ;  his  wrath  was  kindled 
against  the  author.  He  resolved  to  "have  the 
law"  on  his  traducer,  having  been  advised  there 
to  by  that  tout  of  the  law  known  as  the  "jack- 
leg",  denominated  in  these  degenerate  days  by 
the  purulent  epithet  of  "snitch".  In  his  copy  of 
the  Kansas  Magazine,  Ingalls  made  notation  of 
the  settlement  with  Shang,  as  follows: 

This  delineation  was  popularly  supposed  to  be 
drawn  from  life.  Its  original  was  alleged  to  be 
Jonathan  G.  Lang,  a  resident  of  Sumner,  Atchi- 
son  Co.,  since  1858.  He  was  a  native  of  Kentucky 
(Carroll  Co.),  and  was  commonly  known  as 
"Shanghai",  from  the  longitude  of  his  neck  and 
legs.  The  sketch  can  hardly  be  called  an  exag 
geration,  though  it  has  some  of  the  elements  of 
caricature.  Lang  thought  it  was  intended  for 
him,  and  I  finally  restored  the  entente  cordiale 
by  presenting  him  with  a  sack  of  flour  and  some 
"side  meat". 


101 


LITERATURE 
EL 

'  i   I    •         *•       •   -      i  1       ^  '* 

O'f  the  prose  compositions  of  Ingalls,  ''Blue 
Grass ' '  is  gradually  taking  first  place  —  rightly 
so.  Its  inspiration  was  the  same  that  brought 
forth  "Catfish  Aristocracy*'.  Indeed,  it  is  but 
a  different  side  of  the  same  subject. 

The  intellect  of  Ingalls  was  restricted,  but  in 
tense.  In  "Blue  Grass"  we  have  only  the  land 
scape  of  Eastern  Kansas  and  the  sarcastic  cruci 
fixion  of  the  Missourian.  But  by  his  powerful 
intellectual  alchemy,  Ingalls  produced  from  these 
the  most  astonishing  scenes  and  the  most  beau 
tiful  figures: 

Attracted  by  the  bland  softness  of  an  afternoon 
in  my  primeval  winter  in  Kansas,  I  rode  south 
ward  through  the  dense  forest  that  then  covered 
the  bluffs  of  the  North  Fork  of  Wildcat.  The 
ground  was  sodden  with  the  ooze  of  melting  snow. 
The  dripping  trees  were  as  motionless  as  gran 
ite.  The  last  year's  leaves,  tenacious  lingerers, 
loath  to  leave  the  scene  of  their  brief  bravery, 
adhered  to  the  gray  boughs  like  fragile  bronze. 
There  were  no  visible  indications  of  life,  but  the 
broad,  wintry  landscape  was  flooded  with  that 
indescribable  splendor  that  never  was  on  sea  or 
shore  —  a  purple  and  silken  softness,  that  half 

102 


LITEEATURE 

veiled,  half  disclosed  the  alien  horizon,  the  vast 
curves  of  the  remote  river,  the  transient  archi 
tecture  of  the  clouds,  and  filled  the  responsive 
soul  with  a  vague  tumult  of  emotions,  pensive  and 
pathetic,  in  which  regret  and  hope  contended  for 
the  mastery.  The  dead  and  silent  globe,  with  all 
its  hidden  kingdoms,  seemed  swimming  like  a 
bubble,  suspended  in  an  ethereal  solution  of  ame 
thyst  and  silver,  compounded  of  the  exhaling 
whiteness  of  the  snow,  the  descending  glory  of 
the  sky.  A  tropical  atmosphere  brooded  upon  an 
arctic  scene,  creating  the  strange  spectacle  of 
summer  in  winter,  June  and  January,  peculiar  to 
Kansas,  which  cannot  be  imagined,  but  once  seen 
can  never  be  forgotten.  A  sudden  descent  into 
the  sheltered  valley  revealed  an  unexpected  cres 
cent  of  dazzling  verdure,  glittering  like  a  meadow 
in  early  spring,  unreal  as  an  incantation,  surpris 
ing  as  the  sea  to  the  soldiers  of  Xenophon  as  they 
stood  upon  the  shore  and  shouted  "Thalatta!" 
It  was  Blue  Grass,  unknown  in  Eden,  the  final 
triumph  of  nature,  reserved  to  compensate  her 
favorite  offspring  in  the  new  paradise  of  Kansas 
for  the  loss  of  the  old  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  divine  profusion  of 
water,  light,  and  air,  those  three  great  physical 
facts  which  render  existence  possible,  may  be 
reckoned  the  universal  beneficence  of  grass.  Ex- 

103 


LITEKATUEE 

aggerated  by  tropical  heats  anct  vapors  to  the 
gigantic  cane  congested  with  its  saccharine  se 
cretion,  or  dwarfed  by  polar  rigors  to  the  fibrous 
hair  of  northern  solitudes,  embracing  between 
these  extremes  the  maize  with  its  resolute  pen 
nons,  the  rice  plant  of  Southern  swamps,  the 
wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats,  and  other  cereals,  no  less 
than  the  humbler  verdure  of  hillside,  pasture,  and 
prairie  in  the  temperate  zone,  grass  is  the  most 
widely  distributed  of  all  vegetable  beings,  and  is 
at  once  the  type  of  our  life  and  the  emblem  of 
our  mortality.  Lying  in  the  sunshine  among  the 
buttercups  and  dandelions  of  May,  scarcely  higher 
in  intelligence  than  the  minute  tenants  of  that 
mimic  wilderness,  our  earliest  recollections  are  of 
grass ;  and  when  the  fitful  fever  is  ended,  and  the 
foolish  wrangle  of  the  market  and  forum  is  closed, 
grass  heals  over  the  scar  which  our  descent  into 
the  bosom  of  the  earth  has  made,  and  the  carpet 
of  the  infant  becomes  the  blanket  of  the  dead. 

In  the  following  paragraph  Ingalls  ascended  to 
his  greatest  height.  It  is  his  best, —  the  supreme 
effort  beyond  which  he  could,  in  prose,  never  go: 

Grass  is  the  forgiveness  of  nature  —  her  con 
stant  benediction.  Fields  trampled  with  battle, 
saturated  with  blood,  torn  with  the  ruts  of  can 
non,  grow  green  again  with  grass,  and  carnage  is 
forgotten.  Streets  abandoned  by  traffic  become 

104 


LITERATURE 

grass-grown  like  rural  lanes,  and  are  obliterated. 
Forests  decay,  harvests  perish,  flowers  vanish,  but 
grass  is  immortal.  Beleaguered  by  the  sullen 
hosts  of  winter,  it  withdraws  into  the  impreg 
nable  fortress  of  its  subterranean  vitality,  and 
emerges  upon  the  first  solicitation  of  spring.  Sown 
by  the  winds,  by  wandering  birds,  propagated  by 
the  subtle  horticulture  of  the  elements  which  are 
its  ministers  and  servants,  it  softens  the  rude  out 
line  of  the  world.  Its  tenacious  fibers  hold  the 
earth  in  its  place,  and  prevent  its  soluble  compo 
nents  from  washing  into  the  wasting  sea.  It  in 
vades  the  solitude  of  deserts,  climbs  the  inacces 
sible  slopes  and  forbidding  pinnacles  of  moun 
tains,  modifies  climate,  and  determines  the  his 
tory,  character,  and  destiny  of  nations.  Unob 
trusive  and  patient,  it  has  immortal  vigor  and 
aggression.  Banished  from  the  thoroughfare  and 
the  field,  it  abides  its  time  to  return,  and  when 
vigilance  is  relaxed,  or  the  dynasty  has  perished, 
it  silently  resumes  the  throne  from  which  it  has 
been  expelled,  but  which  it  never  abdicates.  It 
bears  no  blazonry  of  bloom  to  charm  the  senses 
with  fragrance  or  splendor,  but  its  homely  hue 
is  more  enchanting  than  the  lily  or  the  rose.  It 
yields  no  fruit  in  earth  or  air,  and  yet  should  its 
harvest  fail  for  a  single  year,  famine  would  de 
populate  the  world. 

From  this  sublime  height  he  descends  to  the 
105 


LITERATURE 

Missourian,  whose  degradation  l\e  delineates  and 
whose  redemption  he  proclaims : 

A  more  uninviting  field  for  the  utilitarian  can 
not  be  imagined  than  one  of  the  benighted  border 
counties  of  Missouri,  where  climate,  products,  la 
bor  and  tradition  have  conspired  to  develop  a  race 
of  hard-visaged  and  forbidding  ruffians,  exhibit 
ing  a  grotesque  medley  of  all  the  vices  of  civiliza 
tion  unaccompanied  even  by  the  negative  virtues 
of  barbarism.  To  these  fallen  angels  villainy  is 
an  amusement,  crime  a  recreation,  murder  a  pas 
time.  They  pursue  from  purpose  every  object 
that  should  be  shunned  by  instinct.  To  the  igno 
rance  of  the  Indian  they  add  the  ferocity  of  the 
wolf,  the  venom  of  the  adder,  the  cowardice  of 
the  slave.  The  contemplation  of  their  deeds 
would  convince  the  optimist  that  any  system  of 
morals  would  be  imperfect  that  did  not  include  a 
hell  of  the  largest  dimensions.  Their  continued 
existence  is  a  standing  reproach  to  the  New  Tes 
tament,  to  the  doctrines  of  every  apostle,  to  the 
creed  of  every  church. 

But  even  this  degradation,  unspeakable  as  it  is, 
arises  largely  from  material  causes,  and  is  sus 
ceptible  of  relief.  In  the  moral  pharmacy  there  is 
an  antidote. 

The  salutary  panacea  is  Blue  Grass. 

This  is  the  healing  catholicon,  the  strengthen- 

106 


LITERATURE 

ing  plaster,  the  verdant  cataplasm,  efficient  alike 
in  the  Materia  Medica  of  Nature  and  of  morals. 

Seed  the  country  down  to  blue  grass  and  the 
reformation  would  begin.  Such  a  change  must 
be  gradual.  One  generation  would  not  witness 
it,  but  three  would  see  it  accomplished.  The  first 
symptom  would  be  an  undefined  uneasiness  along 
the  creeks,  in  the  rotten  eruption  of  cottonwood 
hovels  near  the  grist-mill  and  the  blacksmith's 
shop  at  the  fork  of  the  roads,  followed  by  a  "  tot 
ing"  of  plunder  into  the  " bow-dark"  wagon  and 
an  exodus  for  "out  West".  A  sore-backed  mule 
geared  to  a  spavined  sorrel,  or  a  dwarfish  yoke  of 
stunted  steers,  drag  the  creaking  wain  along  the 
muddy  roads,  accelerated  by  the  long-drawn 
"Whoo-hoop-a-Haw-aw-aw"  of  "Dad"  in  butter 
nut-colored  homespun,  as  he  walks  beside,  crack 
ing  a  black-snake  with  a  detonation  like  a  Der 
ringer.  "Mam"  and  half  a  score  of  rat-faced 
children  peer  from  the  chaos  within.  A  rough 
coop  of  chickens,  a  split-bottom  "cheer",  and  a 
rusty  joint  of  pipe  depend  from  the  rear,  as  the 
dismal  procession  moves  westward,  and  is  lost  in 
the  confused  obscurity  of  the  extreme  frontier. 
Some,  too  poor  or  too  timid  to  emigrate,  would 
remain  behind,  contenting  themselves  with  a  sul 
len  revolt  against  the  census,  the  alphabet,  the 
multiplication  table,  and  the  penitentiary.  Dwell 
ing  upon  the  memory  of  past  felonies,  which  the 

107 


LITERATURE 

hangman  prevents  them  from,  repeating,  they 
clasp  hands  across  the  bloody  chasm.  But  the 
aspect  of  Nature  and  society  would  gradually 
change  —  fields  widen,  forests  increas ;  fences  are 
straightened,  dwellings  painted,  schools  estab 
lished.  It  is  no  longer  disreputable  to  know  how 
to  read  in  words  of  one  syllable,  and  to  spell  one's 
name.  The  knowledge  of  the  use  of  soap  imper 
ceptibly  extends.  The  hair,  which  was  wont  to 
hang  upon  the  shoulders,  is  shorn  as  high  as  the 
ears.  The  women  no  longer  ride  the  old  roan 
"mar",  smoking  a  cob-pipe,  with  a  blue  cotton 
sun-bonnet  cocked  over  the  left  eye,  but  assume 
the  garb  of  the  milliner,  and  come  to  the  store 
with  their  eggs  and  butter  in  a  Jackson  wagon. 
Pistols  are  laid  aside.  Oaths  and  quarrels  are 
less  frequent.  Drunkenness  is  not  so  general,  and 
the  indiscriminate  use  of  illicit  whiskey  partially 
yields  to  the  peaceful  lager  and  cheering  wine, 
although  in  his  festive  hours  the  true  son  of  the 
soil  cannot  forbear  to  occasionally  kill  a  teacher, 
burn  a  school-house,  or  flay  a  negro,  by  way  of 
facetious  recreation.  The  second  generation 
would  probably  discard  butternut  and  buttermilk, 
and  adopt  the  diet  and  habit  of  the  lower  classes 
in  New  England.  The  third  might  not  be  dis 
tinguishable,  without  close  inspection,  from  the 
average  American  gentleman. 

The  only  adequate  characterization  of  the  ex- 
108 


LITERATURE 

treme  climatic  range  of  the  prairies  of  Kansas 
is  found  here.  And  no  better  description  of  a 
Kansas  thunderstorm  was  ever  written: 

Kansas  is  all  antithesis.  It  is  a  land  of  ex 
tremes.  It  is  the  hottest,  coldest,  dryest,  wettest, 
thickest,  thinnest  country  in  the  world.  The 
stranger  who  crossed  our  borders  for  the  first 
time  at  Wyandotte  and  traveled  by  rail  to  White 
Cloud  would  with  consternation  contrast  that  un 
interrupted  Sierra  of  rygose  and  oak-clad  crags 
with  the  placid  prairies  of  his  imagination.  Let 
him  ride  along  the  spine  of  any  of  those  lateral 
''divides"  or  water-sheds  whose 

"Level    leagues    forsaken    lie, 
A  grassy  waste,   extending  to  the   sky", 

and  he  would  be  oppressed  by  the  same  melan 
choly  monotony  which  broods  over  those  who 
pursue  the  receding  horizon  over  the  fluctuating 
plains  of  the  sea.  And  let  his  discursion  be 
whither  it  would,  if  he  listened  to  the  voice  of 
experience,  he  would  not  start  upon  his  pilgrim 
age  at  any  season  of  the  year  without  an  over 
coat,  a  fan,  a  lightning-rod,  and  an  umbrella. 

The  new-comer,  alarmed  by  the  traditions  of 
"the  drought  of  '60",  wrhen,  in  the  language  of 
one  of  the  varnished  rhetoricians  of  that  epoch, 
"acorns  were  used  for  food,  and  the  bark  of  trees 
for  clothing",  views  with  terror  the  long  success- 

109 


LITERATURE 

si  on  of  dazzling  early  summer  days ;  days  without 
clouds  and  nights  without  dew;  days  when  the 
effulgent  sun  floods  the  dome  with  fierce  and 
blinding  radiance;  days  of  glittering  leaves  and 
burnished  blades  of  serried  ranks  of  corn;  days 
when  the  transparent  air,  purged  of  all  earthly 
exhalation  and  alloy,  seems  like  a  powerful  lens, 
revealing  a  remoter  horizon  and  a  profounder 
sky. 

But  his  apprehensions  are  relieved  by  the  un 
heralded  appearance  of  a  cloud  no  bigger  than  a 
man's  hand,  in  the  northwest.  A  huge  bulk  of 
purple  and  ebony  vapor,  preceded  by  a  surging 
wave  of  pallid  smoke,  blots  out  the  sky.  Birds 
and  insects  disappear,  and  cattle  abruptly  stand 
agazed.  An  appalling  silence,  an  ominous  dark 
ness,  fills  the  atmosphere.  A  continuous  roll  of 
muffled  thunder,  increasing  in  volume,  shakes  the 
solid  earth.  The  air  suddenly  grows  chill  and 
smells  like  an  unused  cellar.  A  fume  of  yellow 
dust  conceals  the  base  of  the  meteor.  The  jag 
ged  scimitar  of  the  lightning,  drawn  from  its 
cloudy  scabbard,  is  brandished  for  a  terrible  in 
stant  in  the  abyss,  and  thrust  into  the  affright- 
ened  city,  with  a  crash  as  if  the  rafters  of  the 
world  had  fallen.  The  wind,  hitherto  concealed, 
leaps  from  its  ambush  and  lashes  the  earth  with 
scourges  of  rain.  The  broken  cisterns  of  the 
clouds  can  hold  no  water,  and  rivers  run  in  the 

110 


LITERATURE 

atmosphere.  Dry  ravines  become  turbid  torrents, 
bearing  cargoes  of  drift  and  rubbish  on  their 
swift  descent.  Confusion  and  chaos  hold  undis 
puted  sway.  In  a  moment  the  turmoil  ceases.  A 
gray  veil  of  rain  stands  like  a  wall  of  granite  in 
the  eastern  sky.  The  trailing  banners  of  the 
storm  hang  from  the  frail  bastions.  The  routed 
squadrons  of  mist,  gray  on  violet,  terrified  fugi 
tives  precipitately  fly  beneath  the  triumphal  arch 
of  a  rainbow  whose  airy  and  insubstantial  glory 
dies  with  the  dying  sun. 

For  days  the  phenomenon  is  repeated.  Water 
oozes  from  the  air.  The  strands  of  rain  are  woven 
with  the  inconstant  sunbeam.  Reeds  and  sedges 
grow  in  the  fields,  and  all  nature  tends  to  fins, 
web-feet,  and  amphibiousness. 

III. 

"Regis  Loisel"  is  an  account  of  a  French  trap 
per  and  fur-trader  of  that  name,  who  lived  in 
Upper  Louisiana  just  prior  to  its  acquisition  by 
the  United  States.  Ingalls  believed  it  his  best  ef 
fort,  another  instance  tending  to  show  that  an 
author  is  not  always  the  most  competent  judge 
of  the  merits  of  his  own  productions.  It  is,  in 
deed,  an  exceptional  composition,  but  its  excellent 
passages  are  much  of  the  same  nature  found  in 

111 


LITERATURE 

all  his  writings  —  the  mystery,  and  profound 
beauty  of  the  Valley  of  the  Missouri.  Here  is  a 
splendid  paragraph: 

The  sullen  gray  bars  of  the  river  were  vocal 
\\ith  sonorous  flocks  of  brant,  halting  for  a  night 
on  their  prodigious  emigrations  from  the  icebergs 
to  the  palms.  Triangles  of  wild  geese  harrowed 
the  blue  fields  of  the  sky.  Regiments  of  pelicans 
performed  their  mysterious  evolutions  high  in  air 
—  now  white,  now  black,  as  their  wings  or  their 
breasts  were  turned  to  the  setting  sun.  The  sand 
hill  crane,  trailing  the  ridiculous  longitude  of  his 
thin  stilts  behind  him,  dropped  his  gurgling  croak 
from  aerial  elevations,  at  which  his  outspread 
pinions  seemed  but  a  black  mote  in  the  ocean  of 
the  atmosphere.  In  all  the  circumference  of  the 
waste  wilderness  beneath  him,  he  saw  no  tower 
or  roof  or  spire  upon  the  hills  of  Atchison,  no 
cabin  on  the  prairie,  no  hollow  square  cleared  in 
the  forests  of  Buchanan  and  Platte;  heard  no  vi 
bration  of  bells,  no  scream  of  glittering  engine, 
no  thunder  of  rolling  trains,  no  roar  of  wheels,  no 
noise  of  masses  of  men  like  distant  surf  tumbling 
on  a  rocky  shore;  no  human  trace  along  the 
curves  of  the  winding  river,  save  the  thin  blue 
fume  that  curled  upward  through  the  trees  at  the 
base  of  the  bluff  from  the  camp-fire  of  Regis 
Loisel. 

112 


LITERATURE 

The  skeleton  in  the  closet  of  one  of  the  first 
families  of  St.  Louis  is  thus  brought  to  public 
view  by  the  deft  rhetoric  of  Ingalls: 

Laclede,  the  projector  of  the  enterprise,  was  a 
mercantile  adventurer  of  noble  descent  from  Bor 
deaux,  long  domiciled  in  New  Orleans,  where  he 
had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  voluptuous  charms  of 
Madame  Chouteau,  the  wife  of  a  baker  of  bread 
and  pies  for  the  hungry,  and  a  vendor  of  ale 
and  wine  for  the  thirsty  villagers.  Monsieur 
Chouteau,  the  baker,  was  presumably  a  crusty 
fellow,  neither  well  bread  nor  in  the  flour  of  his 
youth;  a  dough-faced  loaf-er  and  a  pie-biter  of 
the  deepest  dye.  Be  this  as  it  may,  Madame  pre 
ferred  the  plume  and  sword  of  her  dashing  lover 
to  the  paper  cap  and  rolling-pin  of  her  liege  lord, 
and  "lit  out*'  in  the  summer  of  1763  with  the 
expedition  for  Ste.  Genevieve,  arriving  on  Novem 
ber  3d,  where  they  went  into  winter  quarters. 
After  a  careful  examination  of  the  topography  of 
the  surrounding  country,  Laclede  selected  the 
present  site  of  St.  Louis,  and  established  a  trading- 
post  February  15,  1764,  erecting  a  large  house 
and  four  stores  on  the  levee.  In  due  time  he  died, 
bequeathing  his  name  to  a  street  and  a  hotel  in 
the  city  he  founded.  Madame  Chouteau  long  sur 
vived  him,  residing  in  St.  Louis  till  her  death, 
leaving  a  numerous  progeny  of  Chouteaus,  and  a 

113 


LITERATURE 

name  that  smells  sweet  and  blossoms  in  the  dust. 
She  was  a  woman  of  great  strength  of  character 
and  marvelous  personal  beauty,  and  ruled  St. 
Louis  with  despotic  sovereignty. 

Loisel  secured  a  grant  of  land  from  his  govern 
ment  which  the  United  States  finally  recognized 
and  confirmed  to  the  amount  of  38,111  acres, 
warrants  for  which  were  laid  on  the  public 
domain  in  Kansas.  In  the  litigation  for  the 
possession  of  this  land  which  ensued  Ingalls  was 
retained  as  attorney.  At  the  final  disposition  of 
the  matter  he  was  present  and  participating.  His 
description  of  the  proceedings  must  be  accepted 
as  one  of  the  best  accounts  of  frontier  courts 
extant : 

And  thus  at  last,  in  the  strange  vicissitude  and 
mutation  that  accompanies  human  affairs,  it 
chanced  that  the  protracted  strife  finally  closed  in 
the  courts  of  Nemaha,  and  it  was  there  determined 
who  were  the  "heirs  of  Regis  Loisel". 

Had  the  bandage  been  removed  from  the  eyes 
of  the  Goddess  of  Justice  upon  that  wintry  day, 
she  would  have  dropped  the  idle  scales  and  brand 
ished  the  avenging  sword.  They  have  built  her 
a  stately  temple  since,  whose  harmonious  and 
symmetrical  mass  is  the  poem  of  a  landscape  that 
was  enchanted  before  a  cheap  railway  had  span- 

114 


LITERATURE 

ned  the  Nemaha  with  its  skeleton  truss,  and 
dumped  its  black  grade  diagonally  across  the 
great  military  road  that  trailed  westward  through 
the  village  and  over  the  level  prairie  toward  Salt 
Lake  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  But  upon  the  day 
aforesaid,  the  goddess  dwelt  like  the  apostle  in 
her  own  hired  house,  a  chosen  sanctuary  of  cotton- 
wood  that  stood  four-square  to  all  the  winds  that 
blew.  Here  were  the  aegis,  the  palladium,  the 
forum,  the  ermine,  the  immortal  twelve,  and  all 
the  paraphernalia  inseparable  from  the  admin 
istration  of  law  in  its  most  primitive  form  — 
essential  to  its  sanctions,  the  staple  of  its  orators ; 
without  which,  we  are  assured  by  its  ministers,  the 
proud  edifice  of  our  liberties  would  incontinently 
topple  and  fall  headlong  from  turret  to  founda 
tion-stone. 

The  two  windows  rattling  in  their  rude  case 
ments  were  curtained  with  frost  of  the  thickness 
and  consistency  of  tripe.  Between  them,  with  his 
head  dangerously  near  the  rough  mortar  of  the 
ceiling,  sat  his  honor  the  judge,  surveying  the 
scene  from  an  inverted  packing-box,  his  boots 
interrupting  his  vision,  and  his  chair  inclined 
against  the  wall.  The  harangues  of  the  advocates 
were  enlivened  by  the  musical  clinking  of  glasses, 
the  festal  notes  of  the  rustic  Cremona,  and  the 
boisterous  bursts  of  inebriated  laughter  from  the 
doggery  beneath.  Planks  of  splintered  pine,  sus- 

115 


LITERATURE 

tained  by  a  beggarly  account  of  empty  boxes,  soap 
and  cracker,  spice  and  candle,  from  adjacent  gro 
ceries,  afforded  repose  to  a  group  of  dilapidated 
loafers  who  crouched  and  shivered  around  the 
smoking  stove.  As  they  masticated  their  "flat 
tobacker",  they  meditatively  expectorated  in  the 
three-ply  saw-dust  that  carpeted  the  floor,  and 
listened  to  the  will  of  Regis  Loisel. 

The  subtle  potency  of  the  soul  of  the  bold 
adventurer  spoke  imperiously  from  the  abyss  of  a 
forgotten  past.  His  voice  emanated  from  an  un 
known  grave,  across  the  interval  of  three-quarters 
of  a  century.  His  restless  and  uneasy  ghost  ani 
mated  the  mysterious  syllables  at  whose  utterance 
arose  the  phantom  of  the  Law,  which  irresistibly 
forbade  intrusion  upon  sixty  square  miles  of  Kan 
sas  prairie,  in  the  name  and  by  the  will  of  Regis 
Loisel. 

Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful  than  the  clos 
ing  paragraph.  Its  splendor  arises  from  the  rever 
sion  of  the  author  once  more  to  the  mysterious 
Missouri  winding  its  way  to  the  sea  —  an  object 
of  his  inspiration,  a  manifestation  of  nature  that 
held  always  for  him  the  profoundest  fascination: 

And  so  the  drama  ended.  Three  generations 
had  passed  away.  The  squalid  hamlet  had  ex 
panded  into  an  opulent  metropolis,  of  which  his 

116 


LITERATURE 

descendants  are  eminent  and  honored  citizens. 
States  had  sprung  like  an  exhalation  from  the  wil 
derness.  An  intense  civilization  pervaded  the  pro- 
foundest  solitudes.  Nothing  remained  unchanged 
in  the  wild  world  of  his  brief  life  save  the  impas 
sive  and  desolate  river  which  wears  as  then,  and 
will  forever  wear,  the  impervious  mask  of  its  sul 
len  mystery ;  which  bears  as  then,  and  will  forever 
bear,  the  burden  of  its  secret  unrevealed,  yielding 
no  response  to  the  living  who  tempt  its  inconstant 
wave,  nor  the  dead  who  sleep  by  its  complaining 
shore. 

IV. 

In  the  category  of  writings  formerly  specified 
we  find  ' '  The  last  of  the  Jay  hawkers ' '.  What  his 
tory  says  and  what  it  might  say  could  not  be 
better  stated  than  in  this  production: 

Had  an  irreverent  Athenian  ventured  to  doubt 
Silenus  or  denounce  Priapus,  he  would  probably 
have  been  received  with  a  stormy  outcry  like  that 
which  greeted  Bancroft  when  he  ventured  to  dis 
close  the  truth  about  some  of  the  paragons  of 
early  American  history.  And  yet  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  the  popular  notion  of  the  founders  of 
the  Government  is  as  purely  mythological  as  the 
Grecian  dream  of  Jupiter  and  Minerva.  With 
what  awe  in  our  boyhood  do  we  contemplate  the 

117 


LITERATURE 

majestic  name  of  Washington !  That  benign  and 
tranquil,  although  somewhat  stolid  visage,  looks 
down  upon  us  from  a  serene  atmosphere  un 
stained  with  earthly  passion.  That  venerable 
fame  bears  no  taint  of  mortal  frailty  save  in 
the  juvenile  episode  of  the  hatchet,  in  which  the 
venial  error  is  expiated  by  the  immortal  candor  of 
its  confession.  To  our  revering  fancy,  the  massive 
form  wrapped  in  military  cloak  stands  forever  at 
midnight  upon  the  frozen  banks  of  the  Delaware, 
watching  the  patriot  troops  cross  the  icy  current 
in  the  darkness  before  the  grand  morning  of 
Trenton;  or  else,  arrayed  in  black  velvet  small 
clothes,  resigning  his  commission  to  the  Conti 
nental  Congress  at  Annapolis.  We  learn  in  riper 
years,  with  grief  not  unmingled  with  incredulity, 
that  this  great  man  was  subject  to  ungovernable 
outbreaks  of  rage,  that  he  swore  like  a  mule- 
driver,  and  that  he  was  not  only  the  Father  of  his 
Country,  but  also  of  Governor  Posey  of  Indiana. 

No  highwayman  ever  had  published  a  more 
satisfactory  statement  of  his  person  and  objects 
than  this  last  Jayhawker: 

At  this  time  patriotism  and  larceny  had  not 
entirely  coalesced,  and  upon  the  debatable  fron 
tier  between  these  contending  passions  appeared 
a  race  of  thrifty  warriors,  whose  souls  were  rent 
with  conflicting  emotions  at  the  thought  of  their 

118 


LITERATURE 

bleeding  country's  wrongs  and  the  available 
assets  of  Missouri.  Their  avowed  object  was  the 
protection  of  the  border.  Their  real  design  was 
indiscriminate  plunder.  They  adopted  the  name 
of  "Jayhawkers". 

Conspicuous  among  the  irregular  heroes  who 
thus  sprang  to  arms  in  1861,  and  ostensibly  their 
leader,  was  an  Ohio  stage-driver  by  the  name  of 
Charles  Metz,  who,  having  graduated  with  honor 
from  the  penitentiary  of  Missouri,  assumed  from 
prudential  reasons  the  more  euphonious  and  dis 
tinguished  appellation  of  "Cleveland".  He  was  a 
picturesque  brigand.  Had  he  worn  a  slashed 
doublet  and  trunk  hose  of  black  velvet,  he  would 
have  been  the  ideal  of  an  Italian  bandit.  Young, 
erect,  and  tall,  he  was  sparely  built,  and  arrayed 
himself  like  a  gentleman  in  the  costume  of  the 
day.  His  appearance  was  that  of  a  student.  His 
visage  was  thin,  his  complexion  olive-tinted  and 
colorless,  as  if  "sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale  cast 
of  thought".  Black  piercing  eyes,  finely  cut  fea 
tures,  dark  hair  and  beard  correctly  trimmed, 
completed  a  tout  ensemble  that  was  strangely 
at  variance  with  the  aspect  of  the  score  of  dis 
solute  and  dirty  desperadoes  that  formed  his 
command.  These  were  generally  degraded  ruffians 
of  the  worst  type,  whose  highest  idea  of  elegance 
in  personal  appearance  was  to  have  their  mus 
taches  dyed  a  villainous  metallic  black,  irrespec- 

119 


LITERATURE 

tive  of  the  consideration  whethen  its  native  hue 
was  red  or  brown.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  a 
dyed  mustache  stamps  its  wearer  inevitably  either 
as  a  pitiful  snob  or  an  irreclaimable  scoundrel. 

The  conclusion  of  this  article  has  had  wide  cur 
rency,  which,  in  fact,  it  deserves: 

He  [the  last  of  the  Jayhawkers]  continued  his 
exploits  for  some  months,  but  was  finally  driven 
to  bay  in  one  of  the  southern  counties,  and,  at 
tempting  to  let  himself  down  the  side  of  a  pre 
cipitous  ravine,  was  shot  by  a  soldier  from 
above,  the  ball  entering  under  his  arm  and  passing 
through  his  body.  His  temporary  widow  took  his 
sacred  clay  to  St.  Joseph,  where  its  place  of  inter 
ment  is  marked  by  a  marble  headstone  bearing  the 
usual  memoranda,  and  concluding  with  the  fol 
lowing  : 

"One  hero  less  on  earth, 
One   angel   more   in  heaven!" 

The  unreliable  character  of  grave-stone  litera 
ture  has  been  the  theme  of  frequent  comment,  but 
unless  this  ostensible  eulogy  was  intended  as  a 
petrified  piece  of  jocularity  and  gratuitously  in 
scribed  by  the  sculptor,  it  may,  perhaps,  be  justly 
considered  the  most  liberal  application  of  the 
maxim,  "Nil  de  mortuis  nisi  bonum",  to  be 
found  in  any  American  cemetery. 


120 


LITERATURE 
V. 

Perhaps  the  best  book-review  ever  published  in 
Kansas  was  that  written  by  Ingalls  of  The  Sons 
cf  the  Border,  by  James  "W.  Steele,  "Deane 
Monahan".  Steele  was  a  contemporary  and  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  Kansas  Magazine,  and  his 
book  remains  one  of  the  most  charming  and  use 
ful  volumes  dealing  with  the  Great  Southwest. 
Here  Ingalls  became  an  iconoclast  with  profound 
contempt  for  the  conventionalisms  we  call  civili 
zation  : 

Civilization  is  a  veneer.  The  gentleman  is  a 
varnished  savage.  The  haughty  dame,  the  lan 
guishing  belle,  are  lacquered  squaws.  The  insti 
tutions  of  society  are  stucco  upon  an  edifice  of 
barbarism;  plaster  ornaments  that  continually 
peel  and  crumble,  revealing  through  the  rude 
windows  of  crime,  disorder  and  violence,  the 
rough  frame-work  of  brutality  and  ruffianism. 
The  unwritten  life  of  every  man  is  a  continual 
protest  against  education,  law,  refinement,  culture 
and  obedience.  Grudgingly  and  with  reluctance 
we  surrender  that  portion  of  our  natural  rights 
which  constitutes  our  individual  contribution  to 
that  fund  of  force  which  is  called  government. 

Children  are  born  barbarians.  The  struggle  for 
life  develops  into  an  intense  truculence,  innocent 

121 


LITERATURE 

because  involuntary,  and  often  attractive  because 
accompanied  by  the  splendid  bloom  of  intelli 
gence,  but  as  relentless  and  careless  of  carnage  as 
the  contests  of  bull-dogs  and  wolves. 

Habit  accustoms  us  to  many  limitations,  but 
there  are  seasons  to  all  when  the  restraints  of 
civilization  seem  intolerable:  when  the  veneer  and 
the  varnish  crack,  and  the  unconquerable  im 
pulses  of  the  underlying  nature  demand  expres 
sion:  when  the  daily  paper,  polished  boots,  tailor's 
garments,  gauzy  conversation,  books,  politics,  in 
trigues.,  the  routine  of  domestic  life,  seem  detest 
able. 

Some,  unable  to  endure  the  restraint  and  unable 
to  burst  the  bonds  that  confine  them,  live  tragic 
lives  and  die  tragic  deaths:  others  resort  to  the 
temporary  alleviations  of  whiskey  and  keno: 
others  again  seek  relief  in  communion  with 
nature's  visible  forms,  touch  the  earth  and  return 
refreshed  to  the  repulsive  strife :  many  abandon 
the  arena  and  vanish  into  the  wilderness,  sail  the 
sea,  climb  mountains,  penetrate  forests,  inhabit 
mining  camps,  and  participate  in  the  turbulent 
agitation  of  the  frontier ;  exhausting  the  sad  pain 
of  existence  in  the  superior  stimulus  of  adventure, 
privation  and  random  energy. 

To  those  whom  fate,  timidity,  avarice,  weak 
ness,  or  the  dominion  of  passions,  render  escape 
from  civilization  impossible,  the  story  of  these 

122 


LITERATURE 

wild  lives  absolved  from  the  corrosion  of  care, 
with  their  happy  exemption  from  fortune's 
fluctuations,  brings  an  irresistible  pathos,  an  un- 
definable  regret,  and  a  conviction  that  the  re 
finements  of  culture  are  purchased  at  too  high  a 
price,  and  that  we  have  bartered  for  civilization 
something  better  than  it  brings.  Perhaps  it  may 
be  a  reminiscence  distilled  through  ancestral 
brains,  like  the  murmur  in  the  shell,  of  the  time 
when  we  were  all  children  of  nature,  and  wan 
dered  in  her  leafy  solitudes  and  slept  upon  her 
grassy  breast,  untroubled  with  the  griefs,  the 
depressing  diseases  that  afflict  our  waking  hours, 
the  dreams  that  murder  sleep. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  a  conviction  that  it  is  better 
not  to  need  a  thing  than  to  have  it ;  that  strength 
is  better  than  shelter;  that  immortality  is  better 
than  love ;  that  insensibility  to  cold  is  better  than 
fire;  that  health  is  better  than  the  most  skilful 
physician  and  the  most  seductive  drugs ;  that  life 
devoid  of  temptations  is  better  than  religion ;  that 
the  frigate-bird,  poised  on  tireless  pens  above 
the  ocean  at  midnight,  in  the  fury  of  the  storm, 
a  thousand  leagues  from  shore,  has  a  more  envi 
able  existence  than  that  of  the  petted  canary,  in 
its  gilded  cage.  The  higher,  the  more  refined  the 
civilization,  the  more  intense  this  protest  becomes. 
It  is  stronger  in  the  patrician  than  in  the  serf,  but 
common  to  both,  and  to  all  grades  between.  The 

123 


LITERATURE 

earliest  forms  of  literature  are  bjit  a  transcript  of 
the  communion  of  man  with  nature;  but  as  he 
rises  from  the  earth  and  tempts  the  abyss,  the 
troubled  yearning  seeks  utterance  in  vague  cries, 
finding  its  highest  expression  in  the  "Manfred"  of 
Byron;  its  lowest  in  "Ned  Buntline's  Own",  Syl- 
vanus  Cobb  and  the  swarm  of  subterranean 
vermin  that  infest  the  basement-story  of  litera 
ture.  The  paroxysmal  energy  of  American  life, 
and  the  vast  solitudes  that  stretch  boundlessly 
away  from  the  centers  of  its  grandest  activity, 
have  developed  under  anomalous  circumstances, 
both  the  evil  and  its  remedy,  and  afforded  peculiar 
scope  for  the  exhibition  of  the  sentiment  to  which 
we  have  alluded.  Those  writers,  both  in  prose 
and  poetry,  have  been  most  successful  who  have 
given  voice  to  these  vague  emotions,  and  recalled 
man  to  the  contemplation  of  the  monotonous  vast- 
ness  of  the  prairies ;  the  stupendous  elevations  of 
the  mountains,  in  whose  fastnesses  are  born  the 
mysterious  rivers  that  crawl  from  horizon  to 
horizon,  through  their  dull  circumference  of  sand, 
and  the  strange,  wandering,  nomadic  lives  that 
seek  in  these  melancholy  wastes,  refuge  from 
themselves,  the  balm  for  unspoken  grief,  sure 
medicine  for  the  diseased  soul. 

Thus  he  marshals  the  facts  and  analyzes  the 
principles  underlying  the  elegant  literary  struc- 

124 


LITERATURE 

ture  erected  by  Steele.  Having  done  this  with  a 
skill  rare  indeed,  Ingalls  exhibits  to  us  the  means 
employed  by  the  author  in  constructing  his  temple. 
No  master  ever  declared  more  correct  principles 
than  those  laid  down  in  this  review.  No  rhetor 
ician  ever  gave  clearer  or  more  accurate  direc 
tions  for  writing  pure  English,  for  none  was  ever 
better  qualified  to  direct  in  that  matter: 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between  seeing  a 
thing  and  being  able  to  make  others  see  it.  The 
geographer  can  define  boundaries,  name  streams, 
give  the  altitude  of  mountains  and  the  number 
of  inhabitants;  the  geologist  can  describe  the 
rocks;  the  draughtsman  can  furnish  outlines  and 
lights  and  shadows;  but  beneath  all  these  is  that 
subtle  something  which  defies  analysis;  which 
cannot  be  described  or  painted  or  defined;  which 
individualizes  every  landscape,  every  person  and 
every  habit,  and  distinguishes  it  from  all  which 
it  resembles;  which  makes  a  portrait  different 
from  a  photograph,  and  a  face  different  from 
both;  which  makes  a  mountain  more  than  a  cata 
logue  of  its  physical  traits;  which  for  want  of 
a  better  word  is  called  " expression",  but  which 
is  really  the  reflex  of  the  soul.  To  capture  this 
evasive  but  omnipresent  spirit  and  imprison  it 
in  words  upon  the  printed  page,  in  colors  on  the 

125 


LITERATURE 

canvas,  in  tones  upon  the  musical  score,  is  the 
task  of  genius,  in  which  success  is  partly  the  gift 
of  nature,  partly  the  work  of  art.  It  is  not  enough 
to  reproduce  the  impressions  made  upon  the  eye 
or  the  ear :  the  vision  must  be  introverted  and  de 
pict  the  images  cast  through  the  senses  upon  the 
curtain  in  the  darkened  chamber  of  the  brain. 
This,  in  an  eminent  degree,  has  been  accomplished 
by  Mr.  Steele. 

Of  the  excellent  delineation  made  by  Steele  of 
the  coyote  Ingalls  takes  special  notice,  and  he 
made  it  serve  him  as  a  figure  of  speech  with 
which  to  give  an  old-time  political  enemy,  Horton, 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  a  left-handed 
compliment  that  was  none  the  less  blistering  be 
cause  brief  and  indirect: 

• 

For  a  cruel,  merciless  portraiture  of  a  thievish, 
cowardly  enigma  in  animalism,  commend  us  to 
"  Coyotes  ".  It  is  as  clear  as  a  cameo.  Literature 
is  done  with  this  varmint.  Nothing  more  can  be 
said  about  him.  There  is  one  human  coyote  at  the 
present  time  in  Kansas  politics  who  could  main 
tain  libel  on  this  monograph  were  it  not  for  the 
constitutional  provision  allowing  the  truth  to  be 
given  in  evidence. 


126 


LITERATURE 
VL 

OPPORTUNITY. 

His  Sonnet  "Opportunity"  is  the  chief  stone, 
the  "head  of  the  corner",  in  the  monument  of 
literary  fame  builded  by  Ingalls.  Indeed,  alone, 
it  would  entitle  him  to  immortal  glory  and 
renown. 

In  discussing  it,  the  charge  that  he  copied  it 
from  a  similar  effort  by  an  Italian  must  be  con 
sidered. 

Dr.  Nicoli  Gigliotti,  an  inhabitant  of  Erie,  Pa., 
set  up  claim  to  this  poem,  saying  that  he  wrote 
the  original  of  it  in  Italian  in  1887,  and  pub 
lished  it  in  La  Sveglia  and  Mignon,  of  Naples, 
Italy;  in  Flora  Mirabilis,  of  Turin;  and  in  Le 
Conversazioni  Delia  Domeneia,  of  Milan.  He  also 
claims  to  have  published  it  in  La  Giustizia, 
Denver,  Colorado.  After  the  last  publication  he 
sent,  so  he  says,  a  copy  of  his  poem  to  Ingalls, 
together  with  a  translation  into  English  made  by 
Martin  Battle,  a  disciple  of  Henry  George.  Dr. 
Guiseppo  Coloni,  editor,  furnished  a  certificate  to 
the  effect  that  he  had  published  "II  Fato",  the 
poem  of  Gigliotti,  in  Flora  Mirabilis,  in  1887. 

127 


LITERATURE 

Dr.  Gigliotti  published  three  volumes  of  poems, 
but  his  "II  Fato"  is  not  found  in  them.  As  a 
reason  for  this  strange  omission  the  learned 
doctor  says  that  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the 
form  of  the  poem.  If  even  this  were  true  it  is 
difficult  to  understand  why  he  sent  a  copy  of 
it  to  Ingalls.  And  it  fails  to  appear  that  he  was 
an  acquaintance  of  Ingalls.  To  his  most  intimate 
friends  Ingalls  never  spoke  of  an  acquaintance  by 
the  name  of  Gigliotti.  It  is  very  improbable  that 
he  ever  heard  of  the  Italian  poet. 

The  matter  was  the  subject  of  much  newspaper 
controversy,  and  the  foregoing  is  written  mainly 
from  a  statement  of  the  case  made  by  the  Kansas 
City  Star  at  the  time. 

The  poem  which  the  Italian  claims  to  have 
published  in  1887  is  given: 

IL  FATO 

Arbito  io  sono  dell'  uman  destine, 

Faraa,  grandezza,  amor  mi  son  vassalli, 

Per  campagne  e  citta  folle  cammino, 

Batto   a  ogni   porta,   e  corro   nuovi   calli. 

Se  in   letargo,  ti   desta.     Se  nel  vino 

Le  cure  affoghi  e  ti  son  dolci  i  falli, 
T'alza  e  mi  segni.     II  fato  son.     Meschino 

Chi,  non  viene  con  me.     Gli  do  cavalli. 

128 


LITERATURE 

Gioie,   grandezza,   onor,   donne   e  piacere. 
Tutto  gli  obbedira  men  che  la  morte. 
Vieni.    Approfitta  del  mio  buon  volere. 

Solo  una  volta  io  batto  alle  tue  porte. 
lo  NON  Ti  SEGUO — rispos'  io — IL  PENSIEBK 
Sol  rendd  1'  uomo  awenturato  e  forte! 

The  English  translation  which  Dr.  Gigliotti  says 
he  furnished  Ingalls  follows: 

THE  FATE. 

Master  I  am  of  human  destinies. 

Fame,  greatness,  love  are  my  servants. 

Cities  and  fields  Foolishly  I  walk. 

I  knock  at  every  door  but  once,  and  I  run  to  new  pathways. 

If    sleeping,    wake.      If    feasting 
You  try  to  kill  your  troubles  with  wine  and  sin: 
Rise  and  follow  me.     I  am  the  fate.     Woe 
To   whom   does   not   follow  me.     I  give  him    [who   does] 
horses, 

Gold,  fame,  honor,  women  and  pleasure.  , 

He  will  conquer  every  foe   save  death. 

Rise;  hang  to  the  opportunity  which  I  offer  to  you. 

I  am  revengeful.    I  knock  unbidden  but  once  at  every  door. 
I  stay  here.    "Leave  me  alone",  I  answered,  "Thought 
And  thought  alone  makes  every  man  happy  and  strong". 

Ingalls  was  accused  in  the  public  prints  un 
friendly  to  him  of  plagiarism  on  another  occasion. 
Senator  Vest  of  Missouri  and  others  interested 
in  the  justice  or  injustice  of  such  a  charge  against 
129 


LITERATURE 

a  public  man  of  brilliant  parts  gave  the  subject 
much  attention.  All  acquitted  Ingalls.  They 
could  detect  no  literary  theft  by  comparison  of 
the  Ingalls  production  with  the  original  from 
which  his  detractors  alleged  it  was  taken;  and 
Senator  Vest  said  so  over  his  signature. 

Now,  the  truth  is,  Ingalls  never  was  guilty  of 
plagiarism.  If  his  compositions  bore  resemblance 
to  the  cast  of  another  it  arose  from  the  fact  that 
human  expression  is  limited  in  form.  Philosophic 
contemplation  of  the  mysteries  of  our  existence 
begets  emotions  which  must  reveal  themselves 
along  only  certain  lines.  Similarities  must  often 
occur  in  productions  of  this  nature. 

Many  of  the  friends  of  Senator  Ingalls  were 
perturbed  when  Dr.  Gigliotti  made  his  claim, 
some  believing  that  the  Italian  had  made  his 
case  —  at  least  that  Ingalls  had  seen  the  poem, 
1  'II  Fato",  before  giving  final  form  to  his  "Oppor 
tunity".  This  did  not  imply  that  the  brilliant 
sonnet  was  not  the  product  of  the  genius  of 
Ingalls,  but  only  that  the  power  of  suggestion  is 
sometimes  sufficient  to  be  responsible  for  the  un 
intentional  use  of  an  alien  expression  for  an  idea 
in  the  most  honest  and  original  of  men.  Dr.  Gigli- 

130 


LITERATURE 

otti  was  of  this  opinion,  and  he  distinctly  says 
that  he  does  not  accuse  Ingalls  of  plagiarism.  For 
a  time  the  writer  held  this  to  be  the  reason  for 
the  resemblance  to  be  found  in  the  two  poems. 
But  notes  in  reference  to  conversations  had  with 
Ingalls  in  1884  when  we  were  thrown  much  to 
gether  in  an  exciting  political  campaign  in  Wyan- 
dotte  County  bring  to  memory  that  even  at  that 
time  he  had  in  mind  the  composition  later 
expressed  in  elegant  and  perfect  diction.  He  had 
reduced  it  to  writing,  but  it  is  not  recalled  that 
it  was  in  the  form  of  verse  —  rather,  that  it  was 
not.  Doubtless  many  of  his  friends  saw  it  as 
early  as  that,  for  opportunity  was  a  favorite 
topic  with  him.  Such  a  poem  is  not  struck  off  at 
a  sitting,  but  is  the  result  of  years  of  meditation 
and  experience.  The  author  remembers  to  have 
taken  issue  with  the  Senator  as  to  the  sentiments 
of  his  production.  Mrs.  Ingalls  says  he  wrote  it 
and  re-wrote  it  for  years  before  its  publication 
over  his  signature  in  Truth  in  1891.  And  this 
agrees  with  his  known  habit.  He  was,  in  literary 
work,  ever  over-cautious.  This  was  shown  in  the 
preparation  of  his  Kansas  Magazine  articles, 
which  he  re-wrote  many  times.  His  standard  was 

131 


LITERATURE 

the  unattainable,  and  nothing  was  put  forth  as 
worth  while  until  it  was  polished  and  perfect. 

"Opportunity"  is  the  only  thing  Ingalls  pro 
duced  in  later  life  at  all  creditable  or  that 
posterity  will  care  to  save.  And  its  conception 
belongs  to  his  earlier  days.  Its  development  was 
his  life's  experience  misinterpreted.  It  was  sug 
gested  to  him  by  his  fortunate  and  unexpected 
election  to  the  United  States  Senate.  But  that 
was  an  event  of  consecution.  It  was  his  wife's 
ambition  for  him  —  not  primarily  his  ambition. 
His  marriage  was  the  turning-point  in  the  life 
of  Ingalls,  and  with  him,  as  with  most  men  hap 
pily  married  —  who  secure  the  highest  blessing 
and  greatest  treasure  in  matrimony  —  the  poetical 
effusion  celebrating  that  event  would  have  to 
bear  the  title  of  "Importunity". 

Of  all  men  of  his  time  Ingalls  turned  his  back 
on  Opportunity  oftenest.  She  hung  desperately 
on  his  neck  and  entreated  him  with  tears  many 
times,  but  he  did  not  rise  before  she  turned  away. 
It  is  not,  however,  the  province  of  this  paper  to 
indicate  the  occasions. 

As  a  literary  production,  nothing  in  the  English 
language  surpasses  "Opportunity".  It  will  live 

132 


LITERATURE 

as  long  as  man  is  charmed  with  the  beautiful  in 
any  form.  It  is  a  diamond  of  purest  water  per 
fectly  cut: 

OPPORTUNITY. 

Master  of  human  destinies  am  I ! 

Fame,  love  and  fortune  on  my  footsteps  wait. 

Cities  and  fields   I  walk;    I  penetrate 

Deserts  and  seas   remote,  and  passing  by 
Hovel  and  mart  and  palace,  soon  or  late 
I  knock  unbidden  once  at  every  gate! 

If   sleeping,    wake:    if   feasting,    rise   before 
I  turn  away.     It  is  the  hour  of  fate, 
And  they  who  follow  me  reach  every  state 
Mortals  desire,  and  conquer  every  foe 

Save  death:  but  those  who  doubt  or  hesitate, 
Condemned  to  failure,  penury  and  woe, 

Seek   me  in   vain   and   uselessly   implore. 

I  answer  not,  and  I  return  no  more! 

The  sentiment  of  this  poem  is  not  universally 
accepted.  Efforts  to  controvert  its  teaching  were 
early  made.  None  of  them  compare  with  it  in 
genius  of  conception  or  skill  of  construction. 
Some  of  these  responses  are  here  shown : 

OPPORTUNITY. 
By  Walter  Malone. 

They  do  me  wrong  who  say  I  come  no  more 
When  once  I  knock  and  fail  to  find  you  in; 

For  every  day  I  stand  outside  your  door, 

And  bid  you  wake,  and  rise  to  fight  and  win, 

133 


LITERATURE 

Wail  not  for  precious  chances  passed  away, 
Weep  not  for  golden  ages  on  the  wane; 

Each  night  I  burn  the  records  of  the  day; 
At  sunrise  every  soul  is  born  again. 

Laugh  like  a  boy  at  splendors  that  have  sped, 
To  vanished  joys  be  blind  and  deaf  and  dumb; 

My  judgments  seal  the  dead  past  with  its  dead, 
But  never  bind  a  moment  yet  to  come. 

Tho'  deep  in  mire,  wring  not  your  hands  and  weep; 

I  lend  my  arm  to  all  who  say  "I  can!" 
No  shamefaced  outcast  ever  sank   so  deep 

But  yet  might  rise  and  be  a  man  again. 

Dost  thou  behold   thy  lost  youth  all   aghast? 

Dost  reel  from  righteous   retribution's  blow? 
Then  turn   from  blotted   archives   of   the  past 

And  find  the  future's  page  as  white  as  snow. 

Art  thou  a  mourner?     Rouse  thee  from  thy  spell; 

Art  thou  a  sinner?     Sins  may  be  forgiven; 
Each  morning  gives  thee  wings  to  flee  from  hell, 

Each  night  a  star  to  guide  thy  feet  to  heaven. 

OPPORTUNITY 
By  F.  O'Neill  Gallagher. 

One  searched  the  town  and  country  through, 

In  winter's  snows  and  summer's  heat, 
Nor   was    there    any   path   but    knew 

The  pacings  of  his  weary  feet. 
He  watched  through  the  lingering  night 

With  lamp  well-filled  and  door  ajar, 
And  listened  lest  some  footfall  light 

Should  hint  the  freakish  god  afar. 

134 


LITERATURE 

The  god  came  not.     But  there  was   one 

Who  recked  not  of  the  flitting  days, 
Nor  any  thought  of  deeds  undone 

Disturbed  the  tenor  of  his  ways. 
He  toiled  not,  sought  no  goodly  prize; 

E'en  as   he   slept   the  god  came   there 
And  poured  before  his  dream-dimmed  eyes 

His  store  of  treasure,  rich  and  fair. 

OPPORTUNITY 
By  Edward  Rowland  Sill. 

This  I  beheld,  or  dreamed  it  in  a  dream: 

There  spread  a  cloud  of  dust  along  a  plain; 

And  underneath  the  cloud,  or  in  it,  raged 

A  furious  battle,  and  men  yelled,  and  swords 

Shocked  upon  swords  and  shields.     A  Prince's  banner 

Wavered,   then   staggered  backward,  hemmed  by  foes. 

A  craven  hung  along  the  battle's  edge, 

And  thought,   "Had  I   a   sword  of  keener  steel — 

The  blue  blade   that  the   King's   son   bears — but   this 

Blunt  thing!"  he  snapped  and  flung  it  from  his  hand, 

And   lowering   crept   away,   and  left  the  field. 

Then  came  the  King's  son,  wounded  and  sore  bestead, 

And   weaponless,   and   saw   the  broken   sword 

Hilt-buried  in  the  dry  and  trodden  sand, 

And  ran  and  snatched  it,  and  with  battle  shout 

Lifted   afresh    he   hewed   his   enemy   down 

And  saved  a  great  cause  that  heroic  day. 

As  compared  to  the  poem  of  Ingalls  these  fall 
to  the  place  of  the  glow  of  the  firefly  at  midnight 
when  compared  to  the  sun  in  the  splendor  of 

135 


LITERATURE 

noonday.  As  to  the  sentiment  of  the  one  and  that 
of  the  others  —  aye,  there 's  the  rub !  As  to  these 
sentiments  no  agreement  or  determination  can 
ever  be  made.  The  difference  is  that  between 
fatalism  and  hope. 


136 


POLITICS 


POLITICS 
I. 

It  is  not  the  design  to  present  here  any  con 
nected  or  complete  record  of  the  political  career 
of  Ingalls.  Instances  will  be  adduced  showing 
him  in  those  crises  of  his  course  best  exhibiting 
his  powers  and  his  eccentricities. 

Ingalls  sought  political  preferment  from  his 
arrival  in  Kansas.  His  object  at  first  was  nothing 
more  than  to  provide  means  for  a  very  modest 
and  economic  subsistence. 

He  was  engrossing  clerk  of  the  Territorial 
Council  in  1859.  The  same  year  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  convention  which  formed  the 
present  state  constitution.  In  1860  he  was  again 
clerk  of  the  Council;  also  in  1861.  He  was  a 
member  and  secretary  of  the  Republican  conven 
tion  which  met  at  Lawrence  in  1860  to  select 
delegates  to  the  National  Republican  convention 
at  Chicago.  In  1861  he  was  secretary  of  the 
State  Senate,  and  in  November  of  that  year  was 
elected  from  Atchison  County  to  fill  a  vacancy  in 
that  body.  September  17,  1862,  he  was  defeated 

139 

—10 


POLITICS 

in  the  Republican  convention  by  Thomas  A.  Os- 
born  for  Lieutenant  Governor;  and  on  the  29th, 
was  nominated  for  that  place  by  the  " Union" 
or  bolting  faction  of  the  Republican  party,  com 
bined  with  Democrats.  In  the  election  he  was 
defeated,  the  vote  being  9,023  for  Osborn,  and 
5,685  for  Ingalls.  He  was  associated  with  this 
faction  until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  being 
defeated  for  Lieutenant  Governor  a  second  time, 
in  1864,  by  James  McGrew,  of  Wyandotte 
County,  the  vote  being,  for  McGrew  12,064;  for 
Ingalls  8,493.  The  "Union"  faction  charged, 
perhaps  very  justly,  corruption  in  the  regular 
Republican  organization,  and  demanded  reforms 
doubtless  much  needed.  The  "Unionists"  gave 
full  sanction  and  support  to  the  National  Admin 
istration  in  the  effort  to  end  the  war,  charges  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  In  1864  Ingalls 
was  made  a  member  of  the  staff  of  Major-General 
George  W.  Deitzler,  Kansas  State  Militia,  with  the 
rank  of  Major,  and  served  through  the  two-weeks 
campaign  to  drive  General  Price  out  of  Missouri 
and  Kansas.  He  was  assigned  the  duties  of  Judge 
Advocate  during  his  brief  military  service. 


140 


POLITICS 
II. 

The  influence  of  Mrs.  Ingalls  on  the  political 
fortunes  of  her  husband  has  been  already  referred 
to.  In  compliance  with  her  wishes  and  judgment 
he  became  a  candidate  for  United  States  Senator 
in  1872.  The  term  of  Senator  Pomeroy  was  near- 
ing  its  close,  and  a  successor  was  to  be  chosen 
by  the  Legislature  which  assembled  in  January, 
1873.  Pomeroy  was  a  candidate  to  succeed  him 
self,  and  but  for  one  of  those  unexpected  and  en 
tirely  unforeseen  occurrences  incident  to  corrupt 
politics  would  have  been  re-elected. 

All  through  the  preliminary  period  of  his  cam 
paign  Ingalls  was  of  the  opinion  that  Pomeroy 
could  not  be  defeated.  Not  so  with  Mrs.  Ingalls. 
A  woman  will  undertake  the  most  desperate  en 
terprises  with  sanguine  composure  and  faith  in 
final  triumph.  The  peculiar  quality  of  her  men 
tality  called  intuition  enables  her  to  detect  com 
ing  events  which  men  declare  impossible  and  the 
expectation  of  which  preposterous.  Mrs.  Ingalls 
was  confident  of  her  husband's  success,  although 
she  was  wholly  unable  to  give  any  satisfactory 
reason  for  her  faith. 

Among   the    supporters    of    Ingalls    there   was 

141 


POLITICS 

a  shrewd  man  of  affairs  who  kept  his  own  coun 
sel.  He  knew  that  Pomeroy  ought  to  be  beaten, 
and  he  also  knew  that,  pursuing  ordinary  political 
methods,  the  opposition  could  not  defeat  him.  He 
alone  conceived  the  plot  and  laid  the  snare  which 
accomplished  the  downfall  of  Pomeroy.  York 
acted  entirely  under  his  directions,  and  well  did 
he  play  the  part  assigned  him.  Genius  often 
consists  of  the  ability  to  select  suitable  subordi 
nates.  Every  step  in  the  destruction  of  Pomeroy 
was  planned  with  cool  deliberation  and  executed 
with  grim  and  relentless  determination.  Neither 
Ingalls  nor  the  supporters  of  his  aspirations  knew 
the  origin  of  the  catastrophe  that  crushed  Pom 
eroy,  and  they,  one  and  all,  were  as  completely 
surprised  at  his  spectacular  annihilation  as  was 
"Old  Beans "  himself.  York  did  not  know  what 
he  was  doing,  and  never  dreamed  that  his  action 
was  to  elect  Ingalls. 

Perhaps  there  never  was  a  more  profound  sen 
sation  in  any  deliberative  body  than  that  pro 
duced  in  the  Kansas  Legislature  when  York,  pale 
and  trembling,  placed  on  the  Speaker's  table 
$7,000  which  he  said  Senator  Pomeroy  had  paid 
over  to  him  on  the  bargain  for  his  vote.  Not  that 

142 


POLITICS 

it  was  held  improbable,  for  no  doubt  many  others 
present  were  in  possession  of  similar  or  larger 
sums  procured  in  the  same  way.  In  a  majority  of 
the  elections  for  United  States  Senator  the  suc 
cessful  candidate  wins  by  bribery,  direct  or  in 
direct  —  often  by  both  in  their  most  vile  and 
degrading  forms. 

The  consternation  and  dismay  created  by  the 
dramatic  course  of  York  resulted  largely  from 
the  knowledge  of  Pomeroy's  most  ardent  sup 
porters  that  he  and  themselves  were  guilty.  Had 
they  not  been,  they  would  have  risen  to  denounce 
as  a  political  trick  his  tragic  story.  Had  they 
done  so,  and  had  Pomeroy  appeared  then  before 
the  Assembly  in  magnificent  wrath  at  the  out 
rage  upon  his  honor,  he  might  even  then  have 
prevailed.  But  only  few  men  have  such  audacity. 

Chaos  had  come.  The  old  regime  had  ended 
in  an  explosion  entirely  unexpected.  There  ex 
isted  no  body  or  faction  with  even  an  adequate 
preliminary  organization  to  take  its  place.  Kan 
sas  politicians  were  dazed  and  at  sea,  and  that 
is  saying  much,  for  no  politicians  in  the  world 
are  more  crafty,  unprincipled,  harder  to  daze  and 
put  at  sea,  brazen,  or  eager  for  the  corrupting 

143 


POLITICS 

carrion  of  graft  and  spoils  than  is  the  average 
Kansas  politician.  Ingalls  had  just  previously 
published  his  Kansas  Magazine  articles.  They 
stamped  him  a  genius.  Their  subject-matter  ap 
pealed  to  Kansas,  for  the  old  animosity  towards 
Missouri  was  not  yet  quenched.  In  the  demoral 
ization  prevailing  he  kept  his  head,  said  little, 
and  stood  immovable  and  aloof  from  hastily- 
formed  cliques  which  were  no  sooner  formed  than 
they  dissolved  into  thin  air,  and  steadily  gained 
ground.  Sentiment  for  his  election  grew  from  the 
close  of  York's  speech,  and  within  thirty  minutes 
it  crystallized,  consolidated,  became  an  aggressive 
demand,  and  his  success  was  assured.  Men  voted 
for  him  because  they  had  read  "Catfish  Aristoc 
racy",  and  some  had  no  other  reason.  His  elec 
tion  was  practically  unanimous. 

III. 

At  the  end  of  his  term  Ingalls  was  a  candidate 
for  re-election.  The  Legislature  to  choose  his 
successor  was  elected  in  1878.  Strong  opposition 
to  Ingalls  developed,  and  his  election  was  se 
cured  with  difficulty,  but  he  finally  prevailed. 
Charges  of  bribery  and  corruption  were  preferred 

144 


POLITICS 

against  him,  and  the  whole  matter  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  United  States  Senate  for  adjudica 
tion.  There  the  charges  fell  to  the  ground.  They 
had  grown  largely  from,  personal  hatred  and  old 
political  feuds,  and  that  principle  in  Kansas  pol 
itics  that  no  man  shall  be  allowed  to  hold  a  place 
if  he  can  be  defeated,  no  matter  what  his  worth 
to  the  State  or  Nation.  The  famous  interview  in 
which  Ingalls  said  the  purification  of  politics  was 
an  iridescent  dream  was  a  plain  statement  of  fact 
about  the  conditions  in  Kansas  applied  to  the 
politics  of  the  country  at  large. 

The  victory  of  Ingalls  was  complete,  and  in 
the  exultation  consequent  upon  his  vindication 
he  came  home  and  delivered  the  most  remarkable 
speech  ever  heard  on  Kansas  soil.  Its  delivery 
was  set  for  a  certain  day,  and  extensive  arrange 
ments  were  made  to  have  a  large  attendance. 
Special  trains  from  various  points  carried  thou 
sands  to  Atchison.  Flambeau  Clubs  marched  by 
the  light  of  red  fire,  and  "Glee  Clubs"  and  "Mo- 
docs"  sang  like  larks.  The  streets  were  con 
gested  with  the  throngs  that  gathered.  All  these, 
however,  were  trifling  incidents.  The  main  event 
was  the  speech  of  Ingalls.  It  was  known  that 

145 


POLITICS 

he  intended  to  flay  his  adversaries,  and  nothing 
gives  the  true  Kansan  more  pleasure  than  to  see 
a  political  adversary  dissected  alive.  In  Kansas, 
politics  are  always  and  altogether  personal  mat 
ters.  Principle  is  rarely  involved.  Blind  adher 
ence  to  national  party  platitudes  is  the  only 
guiding-star,  in  most  instances,  of  the  factions  of 
all  political  parties.  And  these  weak  utterances 
are  interpreted  by  each  fellow  and  his  faction  to 
suit  their  own  interests,  the  bosses  swearing  that 
they  alone  can  properly  construe  them,  and  the 
boss-busters  swearing  by  the  Great  Horn  Spoon 
that  the  bosses  are  grafters,  robbers  and  traitors. 
In  this  they  are  usually  nearly  right,  the  only 
delinquency  being  their  failure  to  include  them 
selves  in  the  same  category,  which  is  always 
remedied  by  the  retaliating  bosses.  These  con 
ditions  have  always  prevailed  in  Kansas,  and  this 
is  why  Kansas  politics  have  always  been  rotten 
and  corrupt,  and  why  they  have  always  borne  a 
spectacular  aspect. 

In  this  address  to  his  constituency  Ingalls  had 
designed  to  speak  from  a  manuscript  which  he 
had  prepared  with  care.  But  the  great  demon 
stration  in  his  honor  carried  him  off  his  feet. 

146 


POLITICS 

In  no  other  place  in  the  world  is  the  "band 
wagon"  in  such  demand  as  in  Kansas  politics.  In 
the  hosts  passing  in  review  before  Ingalls  were 
hundreds  of  obscure  and  forsworn  culprits  who 
burrowed  like  rats  in  filth  to  effect  his  defeat, 
but  now  hilariously  demonstrative  in  their  allegi 
ance,  each  detailing  how  he  had  labored  dili 
gently  in  season  and  out  of  season  for  the  election 
of  the  man  in  whose  interest  they  were  assembled 
and  how  he  had  aided  in  the  downfall  of  the  base 
calumniators,  thieves  and  traitors,  as  he  was 
pleased  to  denominate  his  former  friends  and  co- 
workers, —  because  they  had  failed. 

Ingalls  threw  his  set  speech  to  the  winds  and 
became  the  incarnation  of  burning,  corroding, 
blistering  sarcasm  and  scathing  denunciation. 
The  scimitar  of  his  wrath  glittered  and  flashed 
and  his  foes  fell  —  many  never  to  rise  again  po 
litically  in  Kansas.  Only  the  manuscript  speech 
survives.  It  bears  no  more  resemblance  to  the 
one  delivered  than  does  the  baleful  light  of  a 
tallow  candle  to  the  lightning-flash  that  illumines 
the  midnight  heavens.  But  the  best  that  can  be 
done  is  to  set  it  out  here: 

There  are  probably  one  million  people  in  Kan- 
147 


POLITICS 

sas.  I  should  be  unjust  to  the  bravest,  noblest 
and  most  intelligent  constituency  that  ever 
honored  a  public  servant  with  their  confidence, 
if  I  did  not  avail  myself  of  the  earliest  oppor 
tunity  afforded  me  to  declare,  with  emphasis,  my 
belief  that  there  cannot  be  found  one  hundred 
reputable  citizens  of  the  state,  black  or  white, 
Democrats  or  Republicans,  male  or  female,  who 
have  credited  the  accusations,  or  certainly  sym 
pathized  with  the  nefarious  proceedings  against 
me.  Those  who  have  prosecuted  the  charges  and 
contributed  the  thousands  of  dollars  required  to 
carry  on  the  conspiracy  are  less  than  a  score.  I 
know  them  all  from  the  poor  catspaws,  Eggers 
and  Stumbaugh,  down  through  Martin,  Cross, 
Leland  and  Martindale,  to  Horton,  Guthrie,  Pom- 
eroy  and  Clarke. 

The  majority  of  those  who  opposed  my  elec 
tion  acquiesced  in  the  result.  Many  who  were 
borne  along  by  the  cyclone  of  malice,  hatred  and 
perfidy  that  raged  against  me,  regretted  their 
action,  and  would  have  recalled  it  if  possible. 
The  courage,  the  conscience,  the  convictions  of 
the  people  irrespective  of  the  party,  were  with 
me  from  the  outset.  The  Republican  press  had 
always  been  largely  in  favor  of  my  return  to  the 
Senate,  and  the  more  reputable  organs  of  the 
Democracy  preferred  me  to  any  of  my  rivals. 
Arrayed  against  me  from  the  beginning  have  been 

148 


POLITICS 

the  degraded  elements  in  our  politics,  the  debris, 
the  outcasts,  the  machine  men,  the  implacables; 
reinforced  by  two  pretended  newspapers  in  Mis 
souri  ;  one  edited  in  his  brief  and  casual  intervals 
of  sobriety  by  a  drunken  political  tramp  from 
Kansas ;  the  other  by  a  long-haired  hermaphrodite, 
who  has  as  much  idea  of  decent  journalism  as  the 
scarlet  woman  of  Babylon  would  have  of  the  im 
maculate  conception. 

These  are  the  creatures  that  have  revolted  at 
the  immoralities  of  my  campaign;  the  insects 
that  have  buzzed,  and  bit  and  stung.  They  are 
the  vermin  of  politics;  like  the  noxious  parasites 
that  prey  on  the  human  frame.  I  have  seen  it 
intimated  in  some  quarters  that  I  had  returned  to 
Kansas  on  a  mission  of  vengeance  and  retribution. 
Sensible  men  never  get  angry  with  flies  and  mos 
quitoes.  The  only  emotions  that  animate  me  are 
those  which  inspire  the  affectionate  mother,  who, 
having  found  in  the  tresses  of  her  offspring  the 
pediculus.  humanus,  cracks  it  on  her  thumb-nail, 
or  the  prudent  husbandman  who  sifts  Paris  green 
on  the  Colorado  beetles  and  squash  bugs  that  in 
fest  his  vines,  or  the  vigilant  housewife  who  pur 
sues  that  enemy  of  repose,  the  cimex  lectularius , 
into  the  crevices  of  the  couch  with  corrosive  sub 
limate  and  a  feather ! 

The  character  of  a  cause  may  be  judged  and 
measured  by  the  character  of  its  advocates.  To 

149 


POLITICS 

conduct  this  moral  movement  tl^ese  apostles  of 
purity  selected  "W.  C.  Webb,  who  resigned  his 
seat  in  the  Wisconsin  Legislature  to  escape  ex 
pulsion  for  forgery  and  peculation;  S.  A.  Riggs, 
who  left  the  office  of  U.  S.  District  Attorney  under 
charges  of  fraud  and  incapacity ;  and  F.  S.  Stum- 
baugh,  a  recent  resident  of  Chambersburg,  Pa., 
whose  character  for  truth  and  veracity  was  suc 
cessfully  impeached  in  September  last  in  a  law 
suit  in  that  city,  many  of  his  neighbors  swearing 
that  they  would  not  believe  him  under  oath,  in  a 
community  where  he  had  resided  for  thirty  years. 
Had  the  bar  of  the  state  been  polled,  three  men 
more  highly  qualified  by  nature  and  education  for 
the  filthy  task  could  not  have  been  discovered. 
Their  stupidity,  ill  temper,  ignorance  and  in 
competence  were  monumental.  Their  capacity  for 
blundering  was  superhuman.  For  their  dull  mis 
management,  for  the  discredit  they  brought  upon 
themselves  and  their  cause  by  the  want  of 
courtesy  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  time  and 
place,  I  owe  them  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  it 
gives  me  sincere  pleasure  in  this  public  manner 
to  acknowledge. 

The  title  by  which  I  hold  my  seat  in  the  Sen 
ate  of  the  United  States  has  been  five  times  vin 
dicated.  In  the  last  popular  election,  the  only 
question  before  the  people  was  who  should  be  my 
successor.  It  was  discussed  in  the  newspapers,  on 

150 


POLITICS 

the  stump,  in  the  school-houses,  at  the  cross-roads, 
by  every  fireside  in  Kansas.  There  is  not  a  can 
did  man  in  the  state  who  does  not  know  that 
three-fourths  of  the  Republican  members  elected 
to  that  Legislature  were  originally  favorable  to 
my  return.  Long  before  the  final  ballot,  I  had 
received  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  Republi 
cans  in  both  houses  of  the  Legislature,  and  under 
the  common  law  of  politics  was  thus  entitled  to 
the  unanimous  support  of  my  party.  Seeing  that 
my  election  was  inevitable  unless  my  forces  could 
be  broken,  my  adversaries,  who  had  been  for  years 
attempting  to  saturate  the  public  mind  with  the 
most  infamous  and  odious  calumnies,  suddenly  let 
loose  a  tempest  of  furious  defamation,  under  cover 
of  which,  by  threats,  promises,  and  purchases,  they 
formed  the  most  formidable  coalition  ever  known 
in  Kansas  politics.  No  such  adulterous  alliance 
was  ever  made  before.  Ex-Senators  and  members 
of  Congress,  Marshals  and  ex-Marshals,  the  Chair 
man  of  the  Central  Committee,  the  Speaker  of  the 
House,  veterans  and  raw  recruits,  disappointed 
aspirants  for  office,  inveterate  enemies  of  twenty- 
one  years'  standing,  Republicans,  Democrats  and 
Greenbackers,  all  assembled  under  the  leadership 
of  the  venerable  and  saintly  Pomeroy  in  one  heroic 
struggle  of  devoted  self-abnegation  to  redeem  and 
regenerate  the  state. 

They  selected   as   their   facile   instrument   the 

151 


POLITICS 

Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  a  ma»  who  began  his 
political  career  by  writing  editorials  in  favor  se 
cession  and  drinking  toasts  to  the  health  of  Jef 
ferson  Davis.  Persuaded  to  become  a  Republican 
by  the  promise  of  preferment,  he  has  been  con 
tinuously  in  office  with  an  accidental  hiatus  of  one 
year  from  1860  to  1880.  During  this  long  period 
he  has  habitually  trafficked  in  justice,  defrauded 
his  clients,  basely  plundered  his  partner,  and  in 
sulted  society  by  his  degraded  and  flagrant  im 
morality.  He  has  never  made  a  promise  he  did 
not  break  nor  had  a  friend  whom  he  was  not  will 
ing  to  betray. 

In  this  political  judge  these  frenzied  conspir 
ators  found  a  willing  accomplice. 

Feebly  protesting  that  he  was  not  a  candidate, 
though  every  one  knew  that  for  five  years  he  had 
trodden  every  devious  path  that  led  toward  the 
Capitol,  that  he  took  his  seat  on  the  bench  merely 
as  a  steppingstone  to  the  Senate,  he  descended 
into  the  mire  of  personal  politics,  accepting  the 
nomination  in  a  calumnious  speech,  and  then  at 
tempted  to  secure  success  by  the  open  purchase 
of  votes.  Much  has  been  said  about  the  purity  of 
the  ermine.  That  traditional  fur  was  never 
dragged  through  a  fouler  puddle.  The  very  seat 
on  the  bench  that  was  to  be  vacated  was  promised 
to  two  anxious  aspirants,  and  the  entire  political 
wardrobe  of  the  state  was  divided  in  anticipation 

152 


POLITICS 

of  my  defeat,  like  the  apparel  of  Joseph  among 
his  brethren.  My  election  was  the  triumph  of 
decency  over  disorder.  It  was  a  victory  of  the 
people  over  the  machine  politicians.  It  was 
achieved  against  tremendous  odds  and  in  the  face 
of  obstacles  almost  insurmountable.  It  ought  to 
have  ended  there,  but  the  discomfiture  of  the  op 
position  was  too  complete,  and  their  baffled  rage 
found  vent  in  an  investigation  before  a  Committee 
of  the  Legislature,  which  was  packed  by  a  per 
jured  Speaker,  for  the  purpose  of  convicting  me. 

This  so-called  investigation  was  a  flagrant  bur 
lesque  of  justice,  a  prodigy  of  partizan  unfairness. 
The  hostile  tribunal,  organized  to  find  me  guilty, 
sat  for  weeks  with  closed  doors,  without  attorneys 
or  spectators,  no  witness  knowing  what  had  been 
testified,  without  notice  to  those  whose  rights  and 
reputations  were  thus  brutally  assailed,  and  finally 
exonerated  me  in  a  majority  report  which  was 
adopted  by  the  Legislature.  The  Chairman  of  the 
Committee,  a  weak  but  not  wicked  man,  who  has 
been  rewarded  for  his  violation  of  his  promise  to 
vote  for  me  by  the  office  of  Reporter  of  the  Su 
preme  Court,  revolted  at  the  injustice  that  he  had 
been  selected  to  do. 

Thus,  having  been  endorsed  by  the  people, 
elected  by  the  Legislature,  and  vindicated  by  the 
Committee,  I  had  reasonable  ground  to  anticipate 
immunity  from  annoyance. 

153 


POLITICS 

Had  the  United  States  Senate  been  Republican, 
no  further  effort  against  me  would  have  been 
made.  But  the  Senate  was  Democratic,  and  as  I 
was  a  John  Brown,  bloody  shirt,  stalwart,  anti- 
administration  Republican,  these  shallow  Me 
morialists  reasoned  that  the  Democrats  would 
eagerly  snatch  at  any  opportunity  to  destroy  me. 
Extracts  from  my  speeches  at  Osawatomie  and 
elsewhere  were  reprinted  and  sent  to  Democratic 
Senators,  and  Eggers  and  Stumbaugh,  like  a 
couple  of  Scarabaei  trundled  their  feculent  orb 
of  ordure,  with  its  egg  of  malice,  along  the  dusty 
highways  to  Washington. 

I  have  on  occasion  hitherto  criticised  the  De 
mocracy  with  candor.  I  shall  do  so  without  re 
serve  hereafter.  But  I  shall  never  forget  that 
they  dealt  fairly  with  me;  and  that  they  refused 
to  become  allies  of  my  enemies ;  that  they  were  in 
capable  of  personal  injustice  for  the  sake  of  real 
or  fancied  political  advantage. 

When  the  evidence  taken  by  the  Legislative 
Committee,  with  the  Memorial  asking  for  further 
investigation,  was  laid  before  the  Senate  and 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Privileges  and  Elec 
tions  they  refused  to  entertain  it,  holding  that  the 
decision  of  the  Legislature  was  satisfactory,  in  the 
absence  of  additional  allegations. 

Whereupon  was  filed  a  supplemental  Memorial 
alleging  that  ten  members  of  the  Legislature, 

154 


POLITICS 

naming  them,  had  been  induced  to  vote  for  me 
by  corrupt  payments  of  money  or  promises  of 
office.  The  investigation  was  then  ordered,  and  a 
sub-Committee  of  five  assembled  at  Topeka  in 
September  and  sat  three  weeks,  taking  several 
hundred  pages  of  printed  testimony. 

When  the  sub-Committee  convened,  the  Mem 
orialists  promptly  withdrew  the  charges  against 
seven  of  the  gentlemen  named  in  the  second 
Memorial,  and  offered  nothing  but  vulgar  gossip 
and  rumor  about  the  other  three.  This  supple 
mental  Memorial  was  a  deliberate  fraud  and  im 
position  on  the  Senate,  entirely  without  evidence 
to  support  it,  known  to  be  false  by  the  parties 
who  signed  it,  fabricated  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
procuring  an  investigation  that  would  not  other 
wise  have  been  ordered.  It  was  a  foul  and  cruel 
calumny  against  ten  eminent  citizens  of  high 
character,  and  the  creatures  who  made  it,  by  the 
subsequent  withdrawal  of  its  statements,  stand 
before  the  world  as  self-convicted  libelers,  slan 
derers  and  liars. 

During  the  pendency  of  these  proceedings  I 
have  invited  the  widest  and  minutest  scrutiny.  No 
objections  to  evidence  have  been  interposed,  how 
ever  frivolous  and  incompetent  and  irrelevant  it 
might  be.  I  visited  New  York  and  personally  im 
portuned  the  President  of  the  Telegraph  Company 
to  produce  all  messages  without  hesitation  or 

155 

-ii 


POLITICS 

delay.  The  books  and  vaults  of  the  banks  have 
been  opened  for  inspection,  and  private  corres 
pondence  has  been  freely  disclosed. 

Conscious  of  rectitude,  and  confiding  in  the 
justice  of  the  lofty  tribunal  before  which  I  was 
arraigned,  I  stood  silent  amid  calumnious  clamors. 
Preferring  that  the  decision  should  not  be  biased 
by  personal  considerations,  I  made  no  statement 
and  gave  no  testimony  before  the  Committee  in 
refutation  of  the  idle  inuendoes  that  were  digni 
fied  by  the  name  of  evidence.  I  attended  strictly 
to  my  public  duties,  asking  no  quarter,  ready  to 
meet  every  accusation,  exhibiting  no  hesitation, 
concealing  nothing,  shielding  myself  behind  no 
technicalities  nor  presumptions. 

The  conduct  of  the  prosecution  was  inconceiv 
ably  brutal  and  cowardly.  Not  content  with  the 
opportunity  afforded  them  to  defeat  me  before  the 
people  in  the  canvass  of  1878,  before  the  Legis 
lature  that  elected  me,  before  the  Investigating 
Committee  of  the  House  at  Topeka,  before  the 
Committee  on  Privileges  and  Elections,  and  before 
the  Senate,  they  habitually  resorted  to  the  indus 
trious  circulation  of  newspaper  calumnies,  the  in 
vention  of  slanders  and  lies,  to  prejudice  my  char 
acter  and  standing  before  the  Committee  and  the 
Senate.  One  of  the  counsel  for  the  Memorialists 
prepared  and  published  a  pamphlet,  purporting  to 
be  a  statement  of  the  evidence  in  the  "Ingalls 

156 


POLITICS 

Case"  taken  before  the  sub-Committee  at  Topeka, 
which  was  forwarded,  while  the  case  was  still 
pending  and  undecided,  to  every  member  of  the 
Committee  and  to  each  Senator  and  Representa 
tive  in  Congress,  the  President  and  each  Cabinet 
Officer,  and  to  all  the  leading  newspapers  of  the 
country !  Comment  is  unnecessary.  A  lawyer  who 
in  the  trial  of  a  hog  case  before  a  country  justice, 
would  resort  to  such  attempts  to  influence  the 
magistrate  or  the  jury,  would  justly  be  regarded 
as  having  poor  judgment,  a  bad  case,  and  a  char 
acter  worse  than  either. 

And  since  the  proceedings  have  ended,  the  Hon 
orable  Member  of  Congress  from  this  District  has 
been  sending  bushels  of  the  scurrilous  " brief" 
of  the  Memorialists  to  Kansas  under  his  frank,  in 
direct  violation  of  the  laws  of  Congress,  and  de 
frauding  the  revenues  of  the  Postoffice  Depart 
ment  of  two  cents  upon  each  copy.  They  are  not 
public  documents,  they  are  not  published  by  au 
thority  of  Congress.  They  were  printed  at  the 
expense  of  the  Memorialists. 

Like  all  apostates  who  abandon  religion  for  pol 
itics,  this  eminent  Representative  is  another  illus 
tration  of  the  fact  that  because  a  man  is  a  poor 
preacher  he  is  not  necessarily  a  great  statesman. 
Garbage  must  be  removed,  but  it  is  not  often  that 
a  man  can  be  found  to  act  as  scavenger.  I  com 
mend  to  the  reverend  gentleman  the  contempla- 

157 


POLITICS 

tion  of  the  text  that  will  be  found  in  the  22d 
verse  of  the  Second  Chapter  of  th*e  Second  Epistle 
general  of  Peter.  [But  it  is  happened  unto  them 
according  to  the  true  proverb,  The  dog  is  turned 
to  his  own  vomit  again;  and  the  sow  that  was 
washed  to  her  wallowing  in  the  mire.] 

But  at  last  after  many  weary  months,  after 
my  conduct  had  been  scrutinized  with  the  tele 
scope  and  the  microscope,  the  investigation  that 
had  been  so  eagerly  coveted  came  to  its  close. 
It  was  another  illustration  of  the  "Knavish  engi 
neer  hoist  by  his  own  petard"  It  was  like  the 
gun  of  Hudibras  which 

"Aimed  at  duck  or  plover, 
Recoils  and  kicks  its  owner  over". 

It  was  a  weapon  that  hit  everybody  but  the  man 
it  was  fired  at;  a  boomerang  that  returned  and 
slew  the  hurler. 

All  the  principal  candidates  against  me  felt 
called  upon  to  offer  themselves  as  witnesses  to 
explain  their  behavior  and  clear  themselves  of 
criminal  complicity  and  bribery  and  overthrow. 
After  hearing  all  the  evidence  the  Committee 
unanimously  decided  without  a  dissenting  opinion 
that  the  charges  and  allegations  against  me  were 
not  sustained,  and  they  were  discharged  from 
further  consideration  of  the  subject.  .  .  . 

The  magnificent  demonstration  of  this  day  has 
been  wholly  unexpected  to  me,  and  on  that  ac- 

158 


POLITICS 

count,  perhaps,  the  more  gratifying,  especially  as 
I  am  led  to  believe  that  it  emanates  spontane 
ously,  without  respect  to  party,  from  the  people 
of  Kansas,  as  a  manifestation  of  the  approbation 
and  good  will  of  this  grand  Commonwealth  for 
which  I  have  so  long  labored  and  where  so  many 
years  of  my  life  have  been  spent.  It  would  be 
hollow  affectation  were  I  to  deny  that  I  have 
been  profoundly  moved  by  what  I  have  seen  and 
heard  to-day;  by  the  great  multitudes  that  have 
thronged  the  streets;  by  the  enthusiasm;  the  tri 
umphant  music;  the  transitory  splendor  of  rock 
ets  and  torches;  the  acclamation  that  has  rent 
the  sky. 

I  am  not  unconscious  that  this  pageant  means 
vastly  more  than  a  mere  personal  tribute  to  me. 
It  comes  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  instinct  of  justice 
and  fair  play.  It  is  a  protest  against  brutal, 
cowardly  and  malignant  detraction.  It  is  a  re 
buke  to  a  most  perfidious  and  detestable  plot  con 
ceived  by  a  wretched  cabal  of  implacable  enemies, 
who  having  failed  to  defeat,  conspired  to  destroy, 
and  who  were  willing  in  order  to  accomplish  their 
sinister  designs  to  degrade  their  party  and  defile 
and  dishonor  their  state.  I  have  endured  much, 
but  life  is  full  of  compensations,  and  the  occur 
rences  of  this  day  convince  me  that  I  can  confi 
dently  accept  the  verdict  of  the  people  for  my 
final  and  triumphant  vindication. 

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IV. 

The  uncomplimentary  reference  to  the  inves 
tigation  of  his  election  by  Senator  Voorhees 
brought  upon  him  the  full  measure  of  the  wrath 
of  Ingalls.  The  Hoosier  was  vanquished  at  every 
point  and  was  led  out  of  the  Senate  Chamber 
like  a  whipped  lion  wounded  in  every  muscle. 
And  politically  he  never  recovered.  The  press 
account  of  the  affair  was  as  follows : 

Senator  Voorhees,  of  Indiana,  was  not  in  his 
seat  to-day.  It  was  reported  that  he  was  confined 
to  his  room  by  an  attack  of  rheumatism. 

Mr.  Ingalls,  however,  was  in  the  Vice-presi 
dent's  chair  bright  and  early,  and  throughout  the 
entire  session  he  presided  over  the  deliberations 
of  the  Senate  with  his  usual  gravity  and  grace. 
The  Ingalls-Voorhees  encounter  of  yesterday  in 
the  Senate  was  the  sensation  of  the  hour  to-day. 
It  was  discussed  by  statesmen  and  pseudo-states 
men  in  the  halls  and  corridors  of  the  Capitol  and 
by  the  great  public  in  the  streets  and  in  the 
lobbies  of  the  hotels.  Democrats  and  Republicans 
universally  agreed  that  the  Indiana  Senator  had 
been  badly  worsted;  in  fact  that  Mr.  Ingalls  had 
literally  mopped  up  the  earth  with  Mr.  Voorhees. 

Eugene  F.  Ware,  the  Paint  Creek  poet,  of  Fort 
Scott,  Kansas,  expressed  it  in  the  following  verse 

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which    he    telegraphed   to    Senator    Ingalls    this 
morning : 

Cyclone  dense, 
Lurid   air ; 
Wabash    hair, 
Hide  on  fence. 

The  shrewdness  of  Mr.  Ingalls'  plan  of  attack 
is  universally  complimented.  His  speech,  which 
began  at  two  o'clock  and  closed  at  four,  was  bril 
liant,  able  and  pointed,  but  it  was  mild  as  com 
pared  with  the  second  edition.  His  grape  and 
cannister  was  in  reserve,  and  Mr.  Voorhees  didn't 
expect  it.  The  Kansas  orator  had  carefully  pre 
pared  himself  with  the  documentary  evidence 
against  the  Tall  Sycamore  of  the  Wabash,  and 
he  was  thrice  armed  with  the  language  necessary 
to  rhetorically  skin  him  alive.  "When  at  four 
o'clock  Mr.  Ingalls  had  concluded  his  set  speech, 
Mr.  Voorhees  blandly  supposed  that  the  ammu 
nition  was  all  gone  and  that  he  would  proceed  to 
thrash  his  unarmed  adversary.  He  entered  upon 
his  excoriation  of  Mr.  Ingalls  in  apparent  glee. 
He  felt  that  it  would  be  an  easy  task  to  demoral 
ize  the  Kansas  Senator  and  put  him  utterly  to 
rout.  He  became  sarcastic  and  then  tried  to  be 
funny.  He  wept  for  McClellan  and  Hancock,  and 
his  sympathetic  nature  even  went  out  to  the  man 
he  was  about  to  slay. 

The  opportunity  which  Mr.  Ingalls  anticipated 

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came,  and  he  interrupted  Mr.  Voorhees  with  a 
question  which  disturbed  his  e*quanimity,  then 
annoyed  him,  then  angered  him,  then  enraged 
him.  He  plunged  about  in  his  madness  until  he 
clumsily  fell  into  the  pit  Ingalls  had  warily  pre 
pared  for  him,  and  from  that  moment  he  was  at 
the  mercy  of  the  Kansan.  Mr.  Voorhees  lost  his 
temper,  and  Mr.  Ingalls'  remarkable  coolness  and 
smiling  serenity  only  exasperated  him  the  more. 
He  was  defiant  at  first,  and  it  was  only  when  Mr. 
Ingalls  began  reading  the  rebel  letter  which  Voor 
hees  believed  until  that  moment  was  out  of  ex 
istence  and  forever  beyond  recall,  that  Mr.  Voor 
hees  cowered.  At  the  first  sentence  he  whitened 
with  the  startling  knowldge  that  after  a  quarter 
of  a  century  his  sins  of  treason  had  found  him 
out,  and  when  the  letter  was  finished  the  Hoosier 
was  white  and  trembling.  From  that  moment 
all  he  could  do  was  to  shout  "liar"  and  "dirty 
dog",  and  abuse  and  villify  everything  and  every 
body  concerned. 

It  was  dramatic  to  the  end,  and  Mr.  Voorhees 
left  the  Senate  chamber  more  thoroughly  whipped 
than  ever  before  in  his  life.  To-day  he  was  con 
spicuous  for  his  absence,  and  it  is  reported  that 
he  will  remain  away  for  some  days.  Democratic 
Senators  say  he  ought  to  have  kept  his  mouth 
shut  when  Ingalls  closed  his  speech  at  four 
o'clock,  but  he  didn't.  They  are  therefore  not 

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very    regretful    that    he    got    the    drubbing    he 
courted. 

To-day  Senator  Ingalls  was  the  recipient  of  con 
gratulatory  telegrams  from  every  quarter  of  the 
Union.  All  of  them  were  complimentary,  many 
of  them  unique.  The  Governors  of  no  less  than  a 
dozen  Republican  states  sent  their  congratula 
tions,  and  complimentary  telegrams  came  even 
from  Indiana.  Kansas  was  evidently  overjoyed 
by  the  victory  of  her  senior  Senator,  for  there 
were  telegrams  patriotic,  enthusiastic,  and  full  of 
all  the  eloquence  the  wires  could  transmit  from 
every  portion  of  the  Sunflower  State. 

It  was  more  a  passage  at  arms  than  a  speech. 
The  scene  in  the  Senate  and  the  words  of  the 
controversy  are  preserved  in  the  Congressional 
Record,  from  which  the  following  is  quoted : 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Now,  if  the  Senator  from  Kan 
sas  can  find  any  adjutant-general's  report  of  the 
State  of  Kansas  where  his  name  ever  appeared  as 
a  warrior,  even  in  the  diluted  and  dilapidated 
form  of  judge-advocate  [laughter],  I  will  let  up 
on  him.  I  say  here  that  the  American  Army  has 
but  three  names  of  Ingalls  in  it.  Rufus  Ingalls, 
and  I  speak  his  name  w^ith  honor,  the  old  Quarter 
master-General,  the  old  reliable  friend  of  Grant, 
was  one  Ingalls.  There  was  another  Ingalls,  who 
commanded  a  regiment  from  New  York,  and  when 

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we  go  out  towards  Kansas  there  was  another 
Ingalls,  by  the  name  of  Pearl  P.  Ingalls,  who  was 
chaplain  of  an  Iowa  regiment.  I  will  ask  the 
Senator  from  Iowa  about  him.  He  prayed  and 
preached.  That  is  the  nearest  that  the  name  of 
Ingalls  is  found  in  the  United  States  Army  in  the 
records  of  the  "War  Department.  Being  pious, 
perhaps  he  was  a  cousin  of  the  Senator,  but  I  do 
not  know  how  that  may  be.  There  was  none 
other. 

All  this,  Mr.  President,  is  not  much  to  the 
American  people.  The  Senator  from  Kansas  and 
myself  know  how  little  it  counts,  and  all  that 
justifies  me  in  bringing  it  forward  is  that  that 
Senator  on  such  a  slender  foundation  sees  fit  to 
appear  as  the  censor  of  George  B.  McClellan  and 
General  Hancock. 

I  ask  him  if  I  am  not  fair  in  presenting  the 
reasons  why  somebody  else  ought  to  discuss  the 
military  aspects  of  this  question  besides  him.  He 
may  say  that  somebody  ought  besides  me.  I  will 
answer,  yes,  but,  sir,  I  will  say  that  he  has  no 
greater  claims  than  I;  and  here,  once  for  all, 
whatever  shortcomings  I  may  have  had,  I  will 
stand  writh  him  on  a  popular  vote  before  the 
soldiers  of  Indiana  or  the  soldiers  of  Kansas,  and 
leave  this  body  if  I  am  not  approved  by  them  over 
him.  If  that  is  arrogance,  it  is  justified  by  the 
provocation. 

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POLITICS 

The  Senator  from  Kansas  has  alluded  to  Gen 
eral  Hancock's  celebrated  Order  No.  40,  issued 
while  he  was  at  New  Orleans,  issued  in  the  blaz 
ing  spirit  of  civil  liberty,  the  supremacy  of  civil 
government  over  the  military.  It  spoke  the  voice 
of  the  fathers  and  rang  out  over  the  country  as 
a  bugle-call  back  to  the  foundations  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  The  Senator  saw  fit  to  denounce  it.  I 
have  simply  to  answer  in  response  that  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States,  composed  of 
men  of  the  Senator's  own  political  persuasion, 
construed  that  order  to  be  constitutional  and 
founded  upon  the  eternal  principles  of  liberty. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  occupied  the  floor  as 
long  as  I  designed  to  do  so.  I  spoke,  as  I  said, 
a  week  ago  for  the  truth  of  history,  and  here  in 
my  heart  I  reassert  and  reaffirm  what  I  then  said. 
I  am  willing  that  the  figures  in  regard  to  pen 
sions  be  summed  up  as  between  those  stated  by 
the  Senator  from  Kansas  and  myself.  I  will  not 
open  that  question  and  go  into  detail  now.  As 
to  the  history  of  the  South  and  the  history  of 
reconstruction,  I  stated  the  true  scenes  through 
which  I  lived,  through  which  I  passed,  and  which 
I  know.  I  know  that  the  Republican  party  in  its 
dominancy  and  supremacy  spoliated  the  South  of 
over  $200,000,000,  broke  in  dishonor  her  civil 
governments,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  she  is  com 
posed  of  a  people  born  of  self-reliance,  born  to 

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POLITICS 

civilization  and  the  higher  arts  aad  walks  of  life, 
they  would  have  been  destroyed  from  the  earth. 

In  addition  to  what  I  said  last  week  I  will  say 
here  now  that  the  annals  of  mankind  furnish  no 
other  instance  where  the  system  of  labor,  social 
organization  was  torn  up  and  turned  upside  down, 
slaves  set  free  (which  I  was  glad  of),  where  so 
ciety  held  together  as  it  did  in  the  South.  You 
may  attack,  you  may  denounce,  you  may  make 
war  on  such  a  people,  but  the  end  is  their  tri 
umph  and  your  defeat.  [Applause  in  the  gal 
leries.] 

MR.  INGALLS.  It  is  not  my  purpose,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  to  prolong  the  debate.  I  regret  exceedingly 
that  the  Senator  from  Indiana  has  thought  best 
to  refer  to  personal  matters  in  connection  with 
my  history,  to  which  I  do  not  propose  now  to 
advert.  My  military  service  was  inconspicuous 
and  obscure,  and  no  one  is  more  conscious  than 
I  am  of  the  debt  that  I  owe  my  country,  and  of 
the  unpaid  obligation  of  gratitude  which  I  am 
under  to  those  who  did  what  I  might  under  other 
circumstances  have  done. 

But  inasmuch  as  the  Senator  from  Indiana  has 
seen  fit  to  invite  comparison  between  his  record, 
his  history,  and  his  relation  and  mine  to  the  great 
questions  that  have  for  the  past  twenty-five  years 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  country,  I  feel  it 
to  be  my  duty,  in  the  defense  of  the  truth  of 

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POLITICS 

history,  to  put  on  the  record  the  information  in 
my  possession,  and  I  have  it  in  shape  I  think  that 
he  will  not  deny.  I  shall  refer  only  to  public 
matters  in  public  records,  and  I  shall  venture  the 
affirmation  that  whatever  may  have  been  my  own 
relation  to  the  great  struggle  between  the  North 
and  the  South,  and  for  constitutional  liberty,  the 
Senator  from  Indiana  was  from  the  outset  the 
determined,  outspoken,  positive,  aggressive,  and 
malignant  enemy  of  the  Union  cause. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  I  pronounce  that  deliberately 
false. 

MR.  INGALLS.     "Well— 

MR.  VOORHEES.  It  is  absolutely  false.  I  voted 
for  every  dollar  that  was  paid  to  the  soldier,  for 
every  suit  of  clothes  he  wore,  and  for  every  pen 
sion  that  he  has  ever  had,  and  for  every  land 
warrant.  A  proper  statement  — 

MR.  INGALLS.  I  did  not  interrupt  the  Senator 
from  Indiana.  The  Senator  from  Indiana  took 
seven  weeks  to  reply  to  my  speech  of  March  6. 
He  came  in  here  with  a  pile  of  manuscript  bigger 
than  a  Hebrew  Talmud  —  sweltering  venom  sleep 
ing  got.  I  can  excuse  unpremeditated  assaults. 

There  is  something  in  chance  medley  and  hot 
foot  that  is  excusable,  but  the  deliberate,  premed 
itated  preparation  of  malignant,  unfounded  at 
tack  is  to  my  mind  entirety  incompatible  with  a 
noble  nature.  When  the  Senator  from  Indiana 

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POLITICS 

sat  down  in  the  privacy  of  his  closet  and  called 
me  a  Thersites  and  referred  to  me  as  a  "  judge- 
advocate",  peevish  and  paltry  politician,  as  one 
who,  like  Job's  war-horse,  had  smelt  the  battle 
afar  off,  if  he  thinks  that  is  not  a  personal  assault, 
or  if  that  is  his  idea  of  the  observance  of  the  com 
ity  that  ought  to  prevail  among  gentlemen,  well 
and  good. 

My  relations  with  the  Senator  from  Indiana 
for  many  years  have  been  those  of  cordiality  and 
friendship,  and  never  was  I  more  surprised  than 
when  my  attention  was  called  to  the  vindictive, 
unfounded,  malevolent,  and  unjustifiable  asper 
sion  with  which  he  assailed  me  in  manuscript.  1 
could  have  borne  it  if  an  enemy  had  done  it,  but 
it  was,  as  the  Psalmist  said,  "my  own  familiar 
friend".  I  was  unconscious  of  ever  having  ut 
tered  a  word  in  derogation  of  the  Senator  from 
Indiana.  We  have  agreed  on  many  questions, 
and  in  the  supreme  crisis  of  my  fortunes  to  which 
he  has  referred,  unjustifiably  referred,  referred 
to  me  as  having  been  "whitewashed",  I  had  his 
avowed  and  express  sympathy ;  and  when  I  es 
caped  from  the  conspirators  who  had  followed  me 
from  the  State  Capitol  to  the  doors  of  this  Senate 
Chamber  the  Senator  from  Indiana  was  the  very 
first  man  to  write  me  a  note  of  congratulation 
and  sympathy. 

Yet  he  comes  in  here  to-day  and  says :    ' '  Thank 

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POLITICS 

God,  he  never  had  been  followed  here  by  a  com 
mittee  that  questioned  his  right  to  his  title  to  his 
seat",  and  with  much  diffuseness  of  illustra 
tion,  for  the  purpose  of  casting  aspersion  and 
belittling  and  humiliating  me  in  the  eyes  of  the 
American  people,  when  I  had  only  referred  to  his 
public  utterances  given  in  debate,  his  speeches, 
which  he  did  not  deny. 

MR.  VOORHEES.     I  did. 

MR.  INGALLS.  The  Senator  from  Indiana  did 
not  deny  the  veracity  of  the  publication  that  I 
read. 

MR.  VOORHEES.     I  did. 

MR.  INGALLS.  He  could  not  do  so.  It  was  a 
verbatim  stenographic  report,  and  was  certified 
to  by  the  man  who  made  it. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  I  do  not  want  to  interrupt  the 
Senator  — 

MR.  INGALLS.  Yes ;  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  hear 
the  Senator,  because  I  would  not  do  him  an  in 
justice. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  I  say  that  not  a  word  or  syl 
lable  read  by  the  Senator  is  true,  or  believed  to 
be  true  in  Indiana.  I  have  met  those  accusations 
and  trampled  them  under  foot.  I  would  say  fur 
ther  that  the  Senator's  insinuation  that  I  was 
ever  a  member  of  the  secret  society  of  the  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Circle  is  so  base  and  infamously 
false  that  I  do  not  know  how  to  choose  language 

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POLITICS 

to  denounce  it.  I  am  not  so  Jield  in  my  own 
State.  [Applause  in  the  galleries.] 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Chair  will  remind 
the  persons  in  the  galleries  that  they  are  here  by 
the  courtesy  of  the  Senate  and  are  its  guests. 
They  have  been  reminded  more  than  once  that 
the  rules  of  the  Senate  do  not  allow  any  manifes 
tations  of  satisfaction  with  or  disagreement  to 
what  is  said  in  the  Senate ;  and  while  it  would  be 
a  harsh  measure,  as  has  been  suggested,  and  it 
would  be  much  regretted,  to  clear  the  galleries,  if 
it  is  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the 
rules  of  the  Senate  it  will  have  to  be  done. 

MR.  INGALLS.  The  Senator  from  Indiana  has 
just  said  that  he  was  in  favor  of  the  destruction 
of  slavery  and  that  he  was  opposed  to  secession, 
and  yet  in  the  published  volume  of  his  own 
speeches  there  is  a  reprint  of  an  address  delivered 
by  him  in  Virginia  shortly  before  the  war  in 
which  he  advocates  both. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Now,  will  the  Senator  pardon 
me  a  moment? 

MR.  INGALLS.     Certainly. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  I  will  be  perfectly  candid.  I 
did  not  say  that  I  was  in  favor  of  the  destruction 
of  slavery  in  connection  with  the  war,  but  I  did 
say  I  was  glad  that  it  took  place.  Now,  make 
the  most  of  that. 

MR.  INGALLS.     I  will  say  further  than  that,  that 

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POLITICS 

the  Senator  from  Indiana  at  the  time  when  he  de 
livered  that  speech  had  two  editions  of  it  pre 
pared,  one  of  them  for  circulation  in  the  North 
and  one  in  the  South. 

MB.  VOORHEES.     That  is  not  true. 

MR.  INGALLS.  Not  true !  Why,  they  are  ac 
cessible  to-day,  just  as  much  so — 

MR.  VOORHEES.     Get  them  and  show  them. 

MR.  INGALLS.  They  are  just  as  accessible  as 
the  Statutes  of  the  United  States. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Get  them  and  show  them.  I 
say  it  is  not  true.  I  have  met  that  on  the  stump. 
I  have  heard  campaign  falsifiers  before. 

MR.  INGALLS.  The  Senator  pleases  to  call  these 
campaign  rumors  because  he  has  heard  them  for 
the  last  fifteen  years,  and  therefore  they  are  not 
true. 

In  1860,  after  the  Senators  from  South  Carolina 
had  withdrawn  from  this  Chamber,  and  when 
preparations  for  war  were  rife  all  over  the  South, 
and  everybody  knew  that  secession  was  to  be,  so 
far  as  the  South  could  make  it,  an  accomplished 
fact,  the  Senator  from  Indiana  wrote  a  letter, 
which  I  shall  read.  Perhaps  he  will  deny  that. 
It  is  a  letter  to  Mr.  Francis  A.  Shoup,  that  he 
took  South  with  him  and  filed  in  the  Confederate 
war  department  in  support  of  his  own  application 
for  appointment  as  a  brigadier-general  in  the 
Confederate  army.  The  man  who  received  it  was 

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POLITICS 

appointed  a  brigadier-general  m  the  Confederate 
army,  and  he  is  now  an  ecclesiastic  in  Alabama 
or  somewhere  in  one  of  the  Southern  States.  I 
will  read  what  the  Senator  from  Indiana  wrote. 
Anybody  can  see  it,  and  anybody  who  knows  his 
handwriting  can  identify  it.  This  is  the  letter : 

Indianapolis,  Ind.,  December  12,  1860. 

My  friend,  Capt.  Francis  A.  Shoup,  is  about  visiting  the 
South  with  his  sister,  on  account  of  her  health. 

I  have  know  Captain  Shoup  since  our  boyhood;  we  were 
schoolmates.  He  is  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  was 
in  the  Army  as  a  lieutenant  four  years.  No  more  honor 
able  or  upright  gentleman  exists.  On  the  disturbing  ques 
tions  of  the  day  his  sentiments  are  entirely  with  the 
South,  and  one  of  his  objects  is  a  probable  home  in  that 
section. 

I  take  this  occasion  to  say  that  his  sentiments  and  my 
own  are  in  close  harmony, 

D.  W.  Voorhees. 

I  suppose  the  Senator  will  say  that  that  is  a 
campaign  slander,  the  vile  calumny  of  the  oppo 
sition  press. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Mr.  President,  that  is  not  a 
campaign  slander,  but  it  is  — 

MR,  INGALLS.  He  has  trodden  it  under  foot  and 
spat  on  it. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Will  the  Senator  pardon  me  a 
moment? 

MR.  INGALLS.     Certainly. 

MR.  VOORHEES.     I  say   it   is   not   a    campaign 

172 


POLITICS 

slander,  but  it  is  one  of  those  things  the  people 
of  Indiana  have  passed  on  for  now  nearly  thirty 
years. 

MR.  INGALLS.  The  Democratic  party  of  Indi 
ana  have  passed  upon  it,  I  dare  say.  [Laughter.] 

MR.  VOORHEES.  They  have  passed  upon  it  by 
a  very  large  majority  and  no  — 

MR.  INGALLS.  Oh,  I  know  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Circle  have  passed  upon  it. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  No  colporteur  or  missionary 
from  Kansas  can  give  it  any  more  respectability 
than  the  fellows  in  Indiana  have  heretofore.  I 
have  disposed  of  them.  There  was  no  war  when 
the  letter  was  written;  there  was  not  for  nearly 
a  year  afterwards. 

MR.  INGALLS.  Sumter  fell  ninety  days  after 
wards. 

MR.  VOORHEES.     No,  it  did  not. 

MR.  INGALLS.     Let  me  look  at  the  date. 

MR.  VOORHEES.     In  December. 

MR.  INGALLS.  December  12,  1860.  When  did 
Sumter  fall? 

MR.  VOORHEES.     In  April. 

MR.  INGALLS.     In  April,  1861? 

MR.  VOORHEES.    Yes. 

MR.  INGALLS.  December,  January,  February, 
March  —  four  months  afterwards. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Yes;  inaccuracy  is  written  on 
your  face. 

173 


POLITICS 

MR.  INGALLS.  Within  four  months  from  the 
time  the  letter  was  written  Sumter  had  fallen, 
and  yet  the  Senator  from  Indiana  says : 

I  take  this  occasion  to  say  that  his  sentiments  and  my 
own  are  in  close  harmony. 

That  is  something  I  suppose  that  the  Senator 
regards  as  the  vile  expectorations  of  a  partisan 
press.  He  spits  on  it  and  treads  it  underfoot 
and  kicks  it  out  of  sight.  I  will  say  to  the  Sena 
tor  from  Indiana  that  that  paper  was  very  im 
portant  and  influential  in  securing  Mr.  Shoup 
the  appointment  of  brigadier-general  in  the  Con 
federate  army.  When  the  archives  of  that  gov 
ernment  were  captured  it  was  sent  here  to  the 
War  Department,  and  the  original  is  on  file 
to-day. 

Jesse  D.  Bright,  from  Indiana,  was  expelled  for 
as  small  an  offense  as  that  from  this  body,  yet  the 
Senator  from  Indiana  ventures  to  criticise  my 
military  record  and  my  right  to  speak  of  the 
relations  of  George  B.  McClellan  and  Hancock 
to  the  Democratic  party.  The  Senator  from  Indi 
ana  says  that  the  accusation  that  he  called  Union 
soldiers  hirelings  and  Lincoln  dogs,  that  he  said 
they  ought  to  go  to  the  nearest  blacksmith  shop 
and  have  a  collar  welded  around  their  necks  on 
which  should  be  inscribed,  "My  dog.  A.  Lin 
coln",  is  a  campaign  calumny  and  slander  which 

174 


POLITICS 

has  been  spat  on  and  kicked  out  and  trodden 
under  foot.  I  will  say  to  the  Senator  from  Indi 
ana  tkat  the  averment  that  he  made  that  state 
ment  can  be  substantiated  by  as  credible  a  witness 
as  there  is  in  this  city  at  this  time. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  It  is  false,  and  even  if  the 
Senator  said  it  it  would  be  utterly  false  —  just 
as  false  coming  from  the  Senator  as  from  the 
greatest  liar  ever  in  the  country. 

MR.  INGALLS.  If  this  were  a  police  court  the 
Senator  from  Indiana  would  be  sent  to  the  rock- 
pile  for  being  drunk  and  disorderly. 

Sullivan,  Ind.,  September  28,  1868. 

We,  the  undersigned  citizens  of  Sullivan  County,  Indi 
ana,  were  present  at  a  public  speaking  held  in  Sullivan 
August  5,  1862,  when  Hon.  D.  W.  Voorhees,  said,  speaking 
in  reference  to  the  Union  soldiers,  that  they  should  go 
to  the  nearest  blacksmith  shop  and  have  an  iron  collar 
made  and  placed  around  their  necks,  inscribed  thereon  in 
large  letters,  "My  dog.  A.  Lincoln",  and  at  the  same 
time  he  referred  to  the  Union  soldiers  as  Lincoln's  dogs 
and  hirelings. 

Valentine  Hick.  Richard  Dodd. 
James  J.  Laudermilk.      Jacob  B.  Miller. 

Warden  Williams.  Isaac  Hilderbrand. 

Lafayette  Hartley.  Margaret  Hereford. 

Philip  W.  Beck.  Mary  Hereford. 

Helen  Hereford.  Nelson   Burton. 

Mrs.  M.  E.  Earl.  Seth   Cushman. 

Thomas  Bulton.  Owen  Adams. 

John  W.  Hawkins.  J.  H.  Ridgeway. 

175 


POLITICS 

I  suppose  those  are  reputable  citizens  of  Indi 
ana.  They  are  not  ashamed  Of  their  names  or 
their  residence.  They  give  their  home  and  their 
designation.  The  Senator  from  Indiana  can  settle 
the  question  of  the  truth  or  falsehood  with  them 
and  not  with  me.  And  when  the  Senator  from 
Indiana  states  that  he  has  been  endorsed  by  his 
own  party,  that  all  these  accusations  have  been 
trod  on  and  contumeliously  spat  upon  by  the 
people  of  Indiana,  I  say  to  him  that  that  has  only 
been  done  by  the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana. 
We  all  know  what  business  the  Democratic  party 
of  Indiana  were  engaged  in  during  the  war. 
Seventy  thousand  of  them  were  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Circle,  conspiring  against  this  Union. 
They  entered  into  combinations,  as  General  Holt 
states  in  his  report  on  that  subject,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  — 

1.  Aiding   soldiers   to   desert,   and  harboring  and   pro 
tecting  deserters. 

2.  Discouraging  enlistment  and  resisting  the  draft. 

3.  Circulation  of  disloyal  and  treasonable  publications. 

4.  Communication  with,  and  giving  intelligence  to,  the 
enemy. 

5.  Aiding  the  enemy  by  recruiting  for  them,  or  assist 
ing  them  to  recruit  within  our  lines. 

6.  Furnishing  the  rebels  with  arms,  ammunition,  etc. 

7.  Co-operating  with  the  enemy  in  raids  and  invasions. 

8.  Destruction  of  Government  property. 

9.  Destruction  of  private  property  and  persecution  of 
loyal  men. 

10.  Assassination  and  murder. 

176 


POLITICS 

And  it  is  susceptible  of  proof  that  they  did 
conspire  to  murder  Governor  Morton,  to  overturn 
the  State  government  and  put  it  in  the  possession 
of  the  rebels;  and  this  organization,  to  which 
the  Senator  from  Indiana  says  he  never  belonged, 
had  a  ritual  and  organization  of  which  112  copies 
were  found  in  his  office  —  in  the  office  of  the 
Senator  from  Indiana  —  at  the  time  when  Han 
cock  was  at  the  bloody  angle.  In  that  same 
office  was  found  correspondence  between  the  Sen 
ator  from  Indiana  and  a  Senator  from  New  Jersey 
for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  arms,  20,000  stand 
of  them,  not  to  the  National  Government,  for  the 
Senator  from  Indiana  was  not  in  sympathy  with 
that  at  that  time;  not  to  the  State  government 
of  Indiana,  because  that  was  in  other  and  loyal 
hands;  but  for  the  purpose,  as  may  be  imagined, 
of  carrying  out  the  objects  and  purposes  of  this 
organization. 

I  am  aware  that  the  Senator  from  Indiana 
states  and  has  stated  that  although  these  papers 
were  found  in  his  office,  it  was  not  then  occupied 
by  him.  He  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt.  He  states  that  he  had  abandoned  the 
practice  of  law  and  was  not  intending  to  resume 
it;  but  I  have  here  a  list  of  what  was  found  in 
his  office  at  the  same  time  when  these  112  copies 
of  the  ritual  and  rules  of  organization  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  were  found  there, 

177 


POLITICS 

and  he  never  denied  it.  He  afterwards  said  that 
there  had  been  an  unwarrantable  search  of  his 
private  papers.  General  Carrington  is  a  well- 
known  man,  and  has  stated  publicly  what  was 
found  in  the  office  of  the  Senator  from  Indiana 
that  did  belong  to  him  at  the  time  when  "these 
papers"  were  found. 

The  papers  referred  to  are  112  copies  of  the 
ritual  of  the  0.  A.  K.,  a  treasonable  order,  aiming 
to  overturn  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
of  whose  Congress  you  are  a  member. 

Your  law  library  and  office  furniture  were  in 
the  office  where  "these  papers"  were  found. 

You  had  declined  renomination  for  Congress 
and  the  office  was  not  for  rent  as  late  as  April, 
1864. 

The  ritual  had  been  issued  in  the  autumn  of 
1863.  Your  Congressional  documents  were  in  the 
office  where  "these  papers"  were  found. 

Your  speeches,  up  to  March,  of  your  entire 
Congressional  career,  with  the  "John  Brown" 
speech,  were  in  the  office  where  "these  papers" 
were  found.  The  correspondence  of  Senator 
Wall,  of  New  Jersey,  under  his  frank,  indorsing 
a  proposition  to  furnish  you  with  20,000  stand 
of  Garibaldi  rifles,  just  imported,  "for  which  he 
could  vouch",  was  in  the  office  where  "these 
papers"  were  found. 

The    correspondence    of    C.    L.    Vallandigharn, 

178 


POLITICS 

from  Windsor,  Canada  West,  assuring  you  "our 
people  will  fight",  and  that  "he  is  ready",  and 
fixing  a  point  on  the  "Lima  road"  at  "which 
to  meet  you",  was  in  the  office  where  "these 
papers"  were  found. 

There  is  a  little  more  historical  information  on 
that  subject  which  I  think  may  be  valuable.  In 
the  rebel  archives  was  found  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Clement  C.  Clay,  dated  Welland  Hotel,  St.  Cath 
erine's,  July  11,  1864,  addressed  to  Hon.  Jacob 
Thompson,  Montreal.  Lest  I  may  seem  inaccurate 
I  believe  I  will  have  the  whole  letter  printed.  I 
take  an  extract  from  it.  It  is  full  of  confidential 
communications  to  Mr.  Thompson  as  an  agent  of 
the  rebel  Confederacy,  tells  him  what  is  being 
done  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  and  the  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Circle,  advises  methods  for  the  pur 
pose  of  releasing  Confederate  prisoners,  and  he 
says: 

The  only  fear  is,  they  will  not  be  prepared  for  it,  and 
will  be  surprised  and  stupefied  without  notice.  You  need 
not  fear,  as  they  are  of  the  sworn  brotherhood.  Voorhees 
is  to  be  here  on  Monday  or  Tuesday,  and  perhaps  Ben  Wood. 

July  11,  1864,  "Voorhees  is  to  be  here  on  Mon 
day  or  Tuesday,  and  perhaps  Ben  Wood".  What 
was  Voorhees  "to  be  here"  for  in  Canada  to  see 
C.  C.  Clay,  and  why  was  Jacob  Thompson,  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  advised  of  it? 

179 


POLITICS 

The  correspondence  of  Joseph  Ristine,  auditor 
of  state,  declaring  that  "he  wouM  like  to  see  all 
Democrats  unite  in  a  bold  and  open  resistance  to 
all  attempts  to  keep  ours  a  united  people  by 
force  of  steel";  and  that  "this  was  a  war  against 
Democracy,  and  our  only  hope  was  a  successful 
resistance  of  the  South",  was  in  the  office  "where 
these  papers"  were  found. 

The  correspondence  of  E.  C.  Hibben,  who  as 
sures  you  that  "the  Democracy  are  fast  stiffening 
up  when  this  war  is  to  be  openly  declared  as 
being  waged  for  the  purpose  of  freeing  the 
negro",  "which  will  arouse  another  section  of 
the  country  to  arms",  and  declaring  "that  Lin 
coln  bayonets  are  shouldered  for  cold-blooded 
murder",  was  in  the  office  "where  these  papers" 
were  found. 

The  correspondence  of  J.  Hardesty,  who  "wants 
you  to  have  that  one  hundred  thousand  men 
ready,  as  we  do  not  know  how  soon  we  may 
need  them",  was  in  the  office  where  "this  Ritual" 
was  found. 

And  I  have  the  letter  of  Hardesty  here  in  which 
he  calls  on  the  Senator  from  Indiana  to  have 
the  one  hundred  thousand  men  in  readiness. 
There  is  a  curious  explanation  about  that  letter, 
which  is  that  when  the  Senator  from  Indiana,  just 
previous  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  was  in 

180 


POLITICS 

Virginia  making  addresses  in  favor  of  slavery 
and  secession,  he  made  a  speech  at  a  serenade  or 
on  a  public  occasion  in  which  he  said  that  if  any 
attempt  was  made  to  coerce  the  South  one  hun 
dred  thousand  Democrats  in  Indiana  would  come 
down  to  resist  the  effort.  My  informant  says 
that  they  did  come,  but  their  guns  were  pointed 
the  wrong  way. 

The  correspondence  of  J.  J.  Bingham,  who  asks 
you  "if  you  think  the  South  has  resources  enough 
to  keep  the  Union  forces  at  bay",  and  says  that 
"you  must  have  sources  of  information  which  he 
has  not"  was  in  the  office  where  "these  papers" 
were  found. 

The  correspondence  of  John  G.  Davis  informing 
you  that  a  certain  New  York  Journal  *  *  is  wonder 
fully  exercised  about  the  secret  anti-war  move 
ments"  and  "tremble  in  their  boots  in  view  of 
the  terrible  reaction  which  is  sure  to  await  them" 
was  in  the  office  where  "these  papers"  were 
found. 

The  correspondence  of  U.  S.  Walker,  who 
"keeps  out  of  the  way",  because  they  are  trying 
to  arrest  him  for  officiating  in  secret  societies,  in 
closing  the  oath  of  the  K.  G.  C's  prior  to  that  of 
the  0.  A.  K,  was  in  the  office  where  "these 
papers"  were  found. 

The   petition   of   C.   L.   Vallandigham,   D.   W. 
181 


POLITICS 

Voorhees,  and  Benjamin  "Wood  in  favor  of  two 
republics  and  a  United  South  was  in  the  office 
where  "these  papers"  were  found. 

The  correspondence  of  Campbell,  E.  Etheridge, 
George  H.  Pendleton,  J.  E.  McDonald,  W.  B. 
Hanna,  and  others,  Mr.  Carrington  says,  are  some 
of  the  "circumstances"  that  led  me  to  believe 
that  "these  papers"  the  ritual  of  the  0.  A.  K., 
were  found  in  your  office. 

I  looked  upon  these  circumstances  as  a  plain 
juror  might  be  supposed  to  do,  and  not  as  a 
statesman,  and  innocently  supposed  that  such 
papers  as  these,  if  spared  from  the  fire,  would 
be  in  possession  of  the  owner,  and  that  the  office 
of  the  owner  would  be  the  place  where  "these 
papers"  would  be  found. 

And  yet,  with  Colonel  Thompson,  I  cheerfully 
accepted  your  denial,  and  so  respond  as  you  re 
quest  "that  the  people  may  know  the  truth". 

The  Senator  from  Indiana  in  response  to  this 
wrote  a  letter  three  columns  long  that  was  pub 
lished  in  the  Democratic  papers  and  printed  in 
the  Richmond  Enquirer  in  Virginia,  with  praise 
of  the  Senator  from  Indiana. 

A  letter  from  J.  Hardesty,  of  Harrisonburgh, 
Va.,  to  his  nephew,  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  dated  — 

182 


Addressed  — 


POLITICS 

Harrisonburgh,  December   17,   1862. 


My  Dear  Nephew:  We  want  you  to  hold  that  100,000 
men  in  readiness,  as  we  do  not  know  how  soon  we  may 
want  them. 

J.    Hardesty. 

Addressed  on  envelope: 

Hon.  Daniel  W.  Voorhees, 

Terre  Haute,  Ind. 

SENATOR  WALL,  OF  NEW  JERSEY,  TO  DAN  VOORHEES. 
Long  Branch,  August  21,  1863. 

My  Dear  Sir:     I  inclose  you  two  letters  from  a  man  by 

the  name  of  Carr,  in  reference  to  arms.     A  letter  directed 

to  him  simply  Philadelphia  will  reach  him.     I  can  vouch 

for  the  excellent  quality  and  great  efficiency  of  the  rifles. 

Yours    in   haste, 

James  W.  Wall. 

And  another  from  Carr  to  "Wall,  dated  August 
14,  1863,  on  the  same  subject,  giving  the  price 
at  which  these  arms  could  be  purchased,  which 
was  $14  apiece,  saying  there  were  about  twenty 
thousand  of  them  in  all.  For  what  purpose  they 
were  wanted  is  left  to  the  imagination  to  disclose. 

With  regard  to  the  question  as  to  the  side  on 
which  the  sympathies  of  the  Senator  from  Indiana 
were  —  I  suppose  the  Senator  from  Indiana  will 
deny  this  also  and  say  it  was  mere  campaign 
calumny  cast  out  and  trodden  under  the  feet  of 
men  —  on  the  5th  day  of  March,  1864,  he  spoke 

183 


POLITICS 

^| 

of  Vallandigham  as  "that  representative  Ameri 
can  patriot,  who,  with  Hendricks  and  Seymour 
and  Richardson,  had  done  so  much  to  uphold  the 
hands  of  the  American  public  and  had  preserved 
so  far  the  guaranties  of  constitutional  liberty", 
a  man  who  was  tried  and  banished  from  the 
country  for  being  a  traitor,  and  justly  banished; 
and  yet  the  Senator  from  Indiana  said  on  the  5th 
of  March,  1864: 

Will  some  poor,  crawling,  despised  sycophant  and  tool 
of  executive  despotism  — 

That  sounds  very  much  like  the  Senator  from 
Indiana.  If  that  is  a  fabrication  it  is  a  very 
ingenious  one  — 

Will  some  poor,  crawling,  despised  sycophant  and  tool 
of  executive  despotism  dare  to  say  that  I  shall  not  pro 
nounce  the  name  of  Vallandigham  ?  The  scandal  and  stigma 
of  his  condemnation  — 

The  scandal  and  stigma  of  Vallandigham 's  con 
demnation  — 

and  banishment  have  filled  the  civilized  world,  and  the 
Lethean  and  oblivious  wave  of  a  thousand  years  can  not 
wash  away  the  shame  and  reproach  of  that  miserable 
scene  from  the  American  name.  Some  members  have  at 
tacked  with  fierce  clamor  the  great  American  statesman 
and  Christian  gentleman  who  suffers  his  exile  in  the 
cause  of  liberty  on  a  foreign  soil.  So  the  basest  cur 
that  ever  kenneled  may  bay,  at  "the  bidding  of  a  master, 
the  aged  lion  in  the  distance". 

184 


POLITICS 

His  opinion  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  contained  in 
the  same  speech  — 

Genghis  Kahn  and  Tamerlane,  preserved  by  the  pen  of 
the  historian  for  universal  execration,  found  no  pursuit 
so  pleasant  as  calling  for  more  men  for  the  harvest  of 
death,  and,  like  our  present  Executive,  snuffing  with 
jests  and  ribaldry  the  warm  taint  of  blood  on  every  gale. 

Oh,  bitter  mockery,  justice  has  been  dethroned  and  the 
blessings  of  liberty  annihilated. 

Because  four  millions  of  slaves  were  set  free, 
apparently. 

There  is  not  one  square  mile  of  free  soil  in  the  Ameri 
can  Republic. 

The  Senator  from  Indiana  was  also  a  member  of 
Congress  in  the  early  days  of  the  war,  and  he 
made  some  speeches  upon  the  subjects  that  were 
then  agitating  the  country.  In  an  address  to  his 
constituents  in  April,  1861, —  I  hope  I  am  not 
inaccurate  about  that  —  he  declared  that  he 
would  never  vote  a  single  dollar  or  a  single  man 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  he  never 
did  so  long  as  he  was  in  Congress. 

He  constantly  and  persistently  voted  against 
every  measure  for  upholding  the  Union  cause  and 
re-inforcing  its  armies,  voted  against  all  the  con 
stitutional  amendments,  and  finally  declared  by  a 
nay  vote  that  he  would  not  hold  that  the  amend 
ments  were  constitutional  or  binding  upon  the 
conscience  of  the  American  people.  And  yet  the 

185 


POLITICS 

• 

Senator  from  Indiana,  who  I  think  deserves  char 
ity  more  than  any  man  that  I  know  upon  this 
floor,  and  who  has  received  it  at  the  hands  of 
his  associates,  and  who  can  less  afford  than  any 
man  of  my  acquaintance  to  invite  a  scrutiny  of 
his  war  record  with  anybody,  with  playfulness 
and  hilariousness  refers  to  the  fact  that  I  served 
during  the  war  as  a  judge-advocate  with  the  rank 
of  major  and  subsequently  of  lieutenant-colonel. 
I  have  this  to  say:  That  however  obscure  or  in 
efficient  my  services  may  have  been,  they  were 
always  on  the  side  of  my  country,  and  not  as 
his  has  been,  always  against  it. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Mr.  President,  if  the  Senator 
from  Kansas,  to  just  take  a  matter  of  fact,  will 
find  one  single  vote  that  I  have  cast  against  the 
payment  of  soldiers  for  their  pay,  for  their  sup 
plies,  for  their  bounties,  or  appropriations  for 
their  pensions,  I  will  resign  my  seat  in  the  Sen 
ate.  Every  word  that  has  been  stated  on  that 
subject  is  absolutely  false  by  the  record  —  abso 
lutely. 

I  measure  my  words  as  I  stand  here.  If  I  am 
an  object  of  his  charity,  he  is  an  object  of  my 
contempt.  He  says  I  issued  a  proclamation  to  my 
constituents  in  April,  1861,  that  I  would  not  vote 
for  men  or  money.  That  is  false.  I  never  did 
anything  of  the  kind;  never  in  the  world.  I  was 
a  pretty  hard  fighter  during  the  war  in  political 

186 


POLITICS 

campaigns.  The  party  then  in  power  gave  it  out 
that  there  should  be  no  parties,  that  we  should 
not  contend  as  parties ;  but  I  did  not  accept  that, 
and  I  fought  my  battles  in  my  own  way.  I  fought 
for  free  speech  and  a  free  press ;  but  the  soldiers 
of  Indiana  know,  and  they  will  measure  and  hear 
what  I  am  now  saying,  that  I  voted  for  every 
dollar  that  ever  fed  them,  that  ever  clothed  them, 
and  the  man  who  says  otherwise  is  a  falsifier 
and  a  slander,  and  I  brand  it  on  him. 

I  can  go  home  to  my  people  on  that  statement. 
In  1864  I  was  in  a  bitter,  hard  canvass  for  Con 
gress.  The  Senator  from  Kansas  has  announced 
that  I  had  quit  practicing  law.  That  is  not  true. 
There  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  it.  I  had  gone 
from  one  office  to  another.  Some  papers  that 
belonged  to  me  were  left  in  the  office,  and  others 
put  up  a  job  on  me  in  political  campaigns,  and 
put  things  there  which  were  found  there  and 
were  published  as  found  there.  I  denied  then, 
as  I  deny  now,  that  I  was  ever  a  member  of  any 
secret  political  society  in  my  life. 

Oliver  P.  Morton,  a  brave  man,  not,  like  the 
Senator  from  Kansas,  small  and  active,  but  great 
and  strong,  and  who  believed  that  there  was  a 
secret  organization  in  Indiana  menacing  the 
safety  of  the  Republic,  never  pretended  that  I 
was  connected  with  that  organization.  There 
has  never  been  a  man  in  public  life,  until  the 

187 

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POLITICS 

Senator  from  Kansas  here  persuades  himself  to  do 
it,  who  ever  alluded  to  the  pretended  fact  that 
I  belonged  to  such  an  organization.  There  was 
a  gentleman  from  New  Hampshire  once,  a  member 
of  the  House,  who  inadvertently,  in  a  sort  of 
hurried  way,  alluded  in  a  general  manner  to  me 
as  a  member  of  a  secret  organization  in  Indiana; 
and  the  next  day  I  took  the  floor  for  a  personal 
explanation. 

I  remember  the  House  gathered  around  me,  and 
among  the  rest  General  Schenck,  who  was  the 
leader  of  the  house  on  the  opposite  side.  He 
came  close  to  me.  I  explained  all  these  things, 
and  that  was  the  last  of  them.  Now  the  Senator 
from  Kansas  sees  fit,  nosing  around  in  a  low,  little 
way,  to  bring  up  these  things  which  are  stale, 
putrid,  cast  off,  and  the  offal  of  years  gone  by. 

When  the  matter  that  he  speaks  of  as  to  my 
office  was  brought  out  by  General  Carrington  I 
was  in  a  hard  canvass  for  Congress.  I  carried  the 
district  by  nearly  800  majority.  As  my  friend,  the 
Senator  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Dawes] ,  remem 
bers,  they  contested  my  seat,  and  threw  me  out 
because  the  Republicans  needed  two-thirds  major 
ity  to  fight  Andrew  Johnson  then,  and  for  no 
other  reason  in  the  world.  I  went  back  to  a 
changed  district,  where  they  put  1,500  majority 
upon  me,  and  I  beat  them  in  that  district  with 
the  soldiers  all  at  home. 

188 


POLITICS 

Now,  if  the  Senator  from  Kansas  thinks  he  is 
making  respectability  or  honor  or  even  courtesy 
by  reviving  these  things  which  have  been  passed 
upon  by  a  jury  of  my  peers  —  a  good  deal  more 
than  his  peers,  but  a  jury  of  my  peers  in  Indiana 
-he  is  mistaken.  I  have  had  several  elections 
to  Congress  since  all  this  poor  old  stuff  was  pub 
lished,  and  then  I  have  been  four  times  commis 
sioned  a  Senator.  I  have  been  elected  three  times 
by  the  Legislature,  and  I  have  carried  the  State 
twice,  by  from  25,000  to  30,000  majority.  If  the 
Senator  from  Kansas  in  his  miserable  condition 
attempting  to  extricate  himself  from  the  disgrace 
of  assailing  McClellan  and  Hancock,  sees  fit  to 
assail  me,  he  is  welcome  to  do  so.  A  man  who 
has  aspersed  the  fame  of  McClellan,  and  says  that 
he  had  fought  two  years  trying  to  make  the  war 
a  failure,  and  that  Hancock  was  an  ally  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  that  Hancock  and  McClellan 
and  Horace  Greeley  all  belonged  to  the  worst  ele 
ments  of  the  North,  I  feel  his  abuse  as  a  compli 
ment,  and  I  thank  him  for  the  aspersions  and 
respond  to  him  accordingly.  [Laughter  and  ap 
plause.] 

So  far  as  the  old  stuff  about  my  denouncing 
the  soldiers  of  Indiana  is  concerned,  the  soldiers 
will  take  care  of  that,  and  there  is  only  a  miser 
able  set  of  people  who  were  never  soldiers,  or 
if  they  were  were  sutlers  most  likely  or  sutlers' 

189 


POLITICS 

clerks,  ever  allude  to  anything  ef  that  kind,  and 
I  can  only  say  —  I  do  not  want  to  be  offensive  to 
the  Senator  from  Kansas,  and  do  not  much  care 
whether  I  am  or  not  [laughter]  —  I  can  only  say 
(because  he  has  thrust  these  matters  upon  me), 
as  I  have  said,  that  the  people  whose  names  he 
reads  there  do  lie  and  do  not  tell  the  truth,  nor 
does  the  Senator  when  he  repeats  what  they  say 
tell  the  truth  either.  I  have  not  the  slightest 
concern,  not  the  slightest  feeling,  not  the  slightest 
irritation  upon  this  matter.  It  has  been  passed 
upon  time  and  again. 

As  for  the  letter  for  Captain  Shoup  I  wrote 
the  letter  for  Frank  Shoup.  I  knew  him  well. 
We  were  boys  at  school  together.  He  was  going 
down  South  with  his  sister,  who  was  dying  of 
consumption.  It  was  in  December,  before  a  single 
state  had  seceded,  before  the  war  had  broken  out, 
and  I  did  sympathize  with  the  feelings  of  the 
South  that  there  ought  to  be  a  compromise  at  that 
time.  The  Crittenden  compromise  was  pending, 
and  the  Peace  Congress  was  called.  I  had  no 
favors  to  ask;  and  as  to  charity,  as  I  said,  I 
respond  with  contempt. 

That  is  all  I  have  to  say. 

MR.  EUSTIS.     Mr.  President  — 

MR.  INGALLS.  Will  the  Senator  from  Indiana 
allow  me  to  ask  him  whether  the  soldiers  of  Indi 
ana  did  not  threaten  to  hang  him  with  a  bell-rope 

190 


POLITICS 

on  a  train  between  New  Castle  and  Terre  Haute 
after  he  made  that  ''Lincoln  dog"  speech? 
[Laughter.] 

MR.  VOORHEES.  Mr.  President,  the  Senator  is 
a  great  liar  when  he  intimates  such  a  thing  —  a 
great  liar  and  a  dirty  dog.  ['  *  Order  I""  Order ! "] 
Such  a  thing  never  occurred  in  the  world.  That 
is  all  the  answer  I  have  to  make. 

THE  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Senator  is  hardly 
in  order.  Personal  discussion  is  not  proper.  The 
Chair  hopes  Senators  will  be  in  order. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  I  pass  it  back  to  the  scoundrel 
behind  him  who  is  instigating  these  lies. 

MR.  INGALLS.  Mr.  President,  there  is  a  very 
reputable  gentleman  in  the  Chamber,  a  citizen  of 
Indiana,  who  informs  me  that  the  signers  of  the 
certificate  about  the  "Lincoln  dog"  speech  are 
entirely  reputable  inhabitants,  male  and  female, 
of  Sullivan  County,  and  that  he  knows  fifty  people 
there  who  heard  the  speech  made  and  can  swear 
to  it. 

MR.  VOORHEES.  I  say  he  is  an  infamous  liar 
and  scoundrel  who  says  I  did.  I  say  so. 

THE  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Senator  will  be  in 
order. 

At  this  point  the  friends  of  Senator  Voorhees 
led  him  from  the  Senate  Chamber.  He  was  pale 
and  trembling.  He  tried  to  hold  up  his  head  and 

191 


POLITICS 

look  defiant  —  an  effort  that  was  a  miserable 
failure.  Outside  the  door  he  burst  into  tears  and 
cursed  his  fate,  saying  that  his  career  was  run 
and  his  reputation  for  patriotism  blasted.  He  was 
in  despair.  And  he  was  desperate.  His  friends 
kept  him  concealed  several  days.  From  that  day 
he  did  not  have  his  old  bearing  in  the  Senate. 
His  demeanor  was  apologetic  and  conciliatory. 
In  fact,  his  public  career  may  be  said  to  have 
ended  that  day. 

V. 

Ingalls  secured  a  third  term  as  United  States 
Senator  without  trouble.  This  term  expired  at 
a  sorry  time  for  the  brilliant  Senator.  That 
grotesque  political  movement  known  as  populism 
was  in  full  blast.  Nothing  like  it  was  ever  seen 
in  America. 

The  populist  uprising  was  a  political  revolution 
that  failed.  It  was  begotten  of  oppression  and 
born  of  an  appeal  for  justice.  It  was  a  protest 
against  gross  and  long-continued  usurpation  of 
the  rights  of  the  people  by  lawless  and  predatory 
combinations  of  criminals  and  freebooters  in 
trenched  in  all  the  departments  of  the  govern- 

192 


POLITICS 

ment.  It  was  conceived  in  righteousness,  but  born 
to  misfortune.  Its  sansculottic  wet-nurses  proved 
self-seeking  vagabonds  with  confiscatory  procliv 
ities.  Wild-eyed,  abnormally  bearded,  peculiarly 
garbed,  they  went  forth  proclaiming  preposterous 
remedies  for  a  sick  nation.  These  political  street 
walkers  sacrificed  the  revolution  for  the  spoils  of 
office,  to  obtain  which  they  "fused"  with  the 
very  principles  against  which  their  party  had 
risen.  Many  of  the  reforms  sought  by  the  honest 
minority  have,  happily,  been  incorporated  in  state 
and  national  statutes.  The  blatant  demagogues, 
the  criminals,  the  blackmailers  of  insurance  com 
panies  and  other  business  institutions  found  to 
be  at  their  mercy,  held  high  carnival  over  their 
carrion  for  a  season,  then  slunk  back  into  that 
obscurity  from  which  they  had  emerged. 

The  movement  became  a  contagious  psychologi 
cal  disorder.  Women  loud  of  mouth  and  brazen 
of  face  became  political  crusaders  and  paraded 
up  and  down  the  land  in  frenzy  and  dishabille. 
Tribunes  were  raised,  and  from  these  a  succession 
of  bewhiskered  orators  poured  a  continuous 
stream  of  monotonous  balderdash  which  was  her 
alded  by  waiting  multitudes  of  mediocre  rustics 

193 


POLITICS 

and  devotees  as  the  gospel  of  human  rights  and 
political  freedom  —  that  is,  the  NEW  gospel.  The 
tail  of  some  crazy  comet  must  have  beclouded  the 
earth.  The  rankest  demagogue  was  acclaimed  the 
greatest  patriot.  Indians  joined  in  the  frenzy  and 
set  to  ghost-dancing  and  the  practice  of  incanta 
tion  to  restore  their  lost  domains  and  bring  back 
the  buffalo  —  a  course  far  more  intelligent  and 
reasonable  than  that  of  the  hypnotic  pale-face  he 
imitated.  Coxey  armies  marched  thousands  of 
miles  to  Washington  to  protest  against  fancied 
invasions  of  man's  primitive  liberties  only  to  be 
ordered  off  the  grass  by  truckling  English  menials 
and  lawn-cutters  with  exaggerated  notions  of 
their  functions.  One  slatternly  jade  announced 
that  she  had  been  made  a  Freemason,  and  in  a 
feast  at  the  close  of  the  Ked  Cross  work  in  a 
lodge  in  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  the  following  toast 
was  proposed  by  a  waggish  member:  "Here's  to 

Mary  Yellin,  the  Knight  of  the  Red  C !"    Of 

her  Ingalls  wrote  to  Ware  "I  have  never  men 
tioned  that  female's  (?)  name,  and  I  suspect  this 
silence  irritates  her  perhaps  more  than  speech, 
and  then,  too,  a  man  is  always  at  great  disad 
vantage  in  any  altercation  with  any  person 

194 


POLITICS 

wearing  feminine  garb,  no  matter  what  the  sex 
may  be". 

Ingalls  saw  the  rising  cloud  when  it  was  no 
bigger  than  a  man's  hand.  His  friends  also  saw 
it  and  entreated  him  to  lead  in  a  movement  to 
confine  it  to  a  faction  of  his  party  —  something 
which  might  have  been  accomplished.  So  far 
did  he  heed  these  admonitions  as  to  prepare  an 
address  to  be  delivered  at  some  proper  place  in 
the  April  before  the  election  of  the  Legislature. 
But  he  was  in  doubt  and  hesitated  until  the 
psychic  moment  had  passed  —  one  instance  where 
not  only  Opportunity  but  his  friends  hung  on  him 
for  weeks,  but  he  did  not  rise.  "Writing  to  Ware 
he  said: 

I  suppose  I  ought  to  be  grateful  to  the  cabal 
of  Democrats,  Greenbackers,  political  cl — p-doc- 
tors,  and  bunco-steerers,  for  being  the  first  to 
formally  nominate  me  for  a  fourth  term  in  the 
Senate !  That  they  did  not  represent  the  senti 
ments  of  the  Republican  farmers  of  Kansas  in 
their  fulminations  against  me  I  have  already 
many  gratifying  assurances.  Of  course  nobody 
can  predict,  I  mean  foretell,  what  will  happen 
politically,  but  I  shall  be  greatly  surprised  if  the 
people  of  Kansas  stultify  themselves  by  deliber- 

195 


POLITICS 

ately  adopting  such  prescriptions  as  these  quacks 
and  Sarsaparilla  physicians  have  written.  With 
many  demands  of  the  Alliance  I  sympathize  — 
Silver,  more  currency,  cheaper  transportation, 
tariff  revision,  and  the  suppression  of  the  trusts, 
monopolies,  grain  gambling,  &c.,  but  I  pause  at 
the  frontier. 

When  hope  of  election  was  well-nigh  gone  he 
delivered  that  address  in  the  Senate  and  labeled 
it  "The  Image  and  Superscription  of  Caesar". 
It  excited  derision  only,  when,  if  it  had  been  pro 
claimed  in  time,  it  might  have  turned  the  tide. 

But  in  this  crisis  of  his  affairs  Ingalls  bore 
himself  well.  He  did  not  fail  to  see  the  ridicu 
lous,  as  he  always  did,  writing  to  Ware  concern 
ing  a  ''terrifying  letter  from  an  agitated  person" 
at  Fort  Scott:  "I  should  say  on  general  princi 
ples  that  any  man  who  asserted  that  there  was 
not  a  'vertious'  woman  in  the  land  deserved  to 
be  knocked  down  in  Topeka  or  anywhere  else. 
The  battery  could  be  justified  by  an  appeal  to 
Lindley  Murray". 

Over-zealous  friends  urged  him  to  the  use  of 
money,  but  the  day  when  York  dramatically 
placed  $7,000  on  the  Speaker's  desk  stood  out 

196 


POLITICS 

clearly  in  his  mind  and  memory,  and  he  forbade 
absolutely  what  he  was  not  inclined  to  do  in  any 
event. 

Ingalls  met  the  situation  with  courage  and  dig 
nity.  The  night  before  the  election  he  addressed 
a  splendid  audience  at  the  Grand  Opera  House  in 
Topeka.  He  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  dramatic 
effect.  Before  it  was  expected  that  he  would  be 
gin  his  speech  the  auditorium  was  flooded  with 
light,  and  he  appeared  on  the  stage,  hat  in  hand, 
in  faultless  attire,  and  said, 

Whether  in  the  battle  to-morrow  I  shall  survive 
or  not,  let  it  be  said  of  me,  that  to  the  oppressed 
of  every  clime ;  to  the  Irishman  suffering  from  the 
brutal  acts  of  Great  Britain,  or  to  the  slave  in  the 
bayou  of  the  South,  I  have  at  all  times  and  places 
been  their  advocate ;  and  to  the  soldier,  his  widow 
and  orphans,  I  have  been  their  protector  and 
friend. 

But  he  was  beaten. 

An  old-time  friend  living  in  "Wyandotte  County 
telegraphed  Mrs.  Ingalls : 
Madam : 

The  leaf  in  the  book  upon  which  is  written 
Ad  astro,  per  aspera  has  been  temporarily  turned 
down. 

197 


POLITICS 

Your  husband  does  not  need  ^sympathy  —  it  is 
the  people  of  Kansas. 
The  light  has  gone  out. 

History  has  not  yet  dealt  with  those  times. 
Indeed,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  that  it  should. 
Ware  embalmed  them  in  the  verse  of  his 
genius.  Through  his  "The  Kansas  Bandit,  or  the 
Fall  of  Ingalls ' ',  the  people  a  thousand  years  from 
now  will  be  familiar  with  those  disjointed  days. 
This  brief  study  is  closed  with  extracts  from  that 
splendid  poem.  It  discloses  and  preserves  the 
well-known  fact  that  even  in  its  incipiency  the 
revolution  was  the  prey  of  unprincipled  men ;  and 
these  finally  wrecked  it. 

THE  KANSAS  BANDIT: 

OR, 
THE  FALL  OF  INGALLS. 

[ALONZO,  the  Bandit,  is  seen  walking  up  and 

down  the  road,  near  Yellow  Paint  Creek, 

Kansas.'] 

ALONZO.     Here    I    parade    the    banks    of    classic 

Paint,  while 

Poverty  doth  like  a  setting  hen  upon  me 
Fortunes  brood. 

198 


POLITICS 

The  times  were  once  when  from 
Gigantic  war  recovering,  the  currency  was  to 

the 

Wants  of  business  equal.    With  scanty  rites, 
Economy,  the  sickly  child  of  poverty,  was  then 

in 
Graveyard  buried.    Apace  the  times  have 

changed. 

Drawpoker  for  the  last  four  years  remunera 
tion 

Hath  not  yielded.    Me  constitution  doth  the  full 
Assimilation   of   me   normal   rum   refuse.     No 

longer 

Will  the  credulous  "bootlegger"  accept  me 
Promises.    While  upon  the  street  women  of 
Doubtful  reputation  snub  me.     The  avenues  of 
Honest  labor  all  seem  closed.    The  preachers  on 
The  roof  do  jeer  at  me  down  on  the  pavement. 
The   times,   the   times   are  like   a  mule-kicked 

lantern 
Shattered:  and  all  because  the  people  do  not 

rule. 

Now  on  the  banks  of  classic  Paint  I  stand, 
With  deathless  nerve  I  clutch  this  trenchant 

brand, 

And  now  and  here,  importunate  and  rash 
I  face  the  world  —  exclusively  for  cash. 

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POLITICS 

[A  stranger  appears.     ALONZO  draws  a  sigh 
and  a  scythe,  and  cries:] 

Halt.    Stand.    Ducats  or  blood. 
[The  stranger  strikes  an  attitude  and  replies:'] 

My  sir  —  I  am  in  occupation  holy, 
I  am  a  follower  of  the  meek  and  lowly ; 
Do  not  detain  me.    Ducats  are  a  fiction ; 
I  give  thee  all  I  have  —  a  benediction. 

Before  I  got  in  politics,  dear  Bandit, 

I  had  a  pulpit,  and  right  well  I  manned  it. 

I  used  to  tell  the  story  of  the  cross, 
But  now  I  just  talk  politics  and  hoss. 
I'm  down  on  Ingalls  now,  for  his  position 
I  do  not  think  real  sound  on  prohibition. 

And  many  things  he  says  doth  much  displease 

us; 

McGrath  says  In-galls  wants  another  Jesus. 
Then  Ingalls  talks  of  " iridescent  dreams," — 
That  government  is  force. 

ALONZO.     Give  me  thy  cash  —  I  fight  not  Ingalls, 
But  poverty. 

STRANGER.     I  have  not  cash. 
ALONZO.    Pass  on. 

[Enter  tall  stranger,  with  spectacles.] 
200 


POLITICS 

ALONZO.     Bullion  or  blood,  of  which 
Art  thou  most  scanty? 
I'm  the  Kansas  Bandit, 
Stand  and  ante. 

STRANGER.     Art  thou  the  Paint  Creek  Bandit  ? 

ALONZO.     I  are. 

STRANGER.     Do  you  believe  in  the  purification 

Of  Kansas  politics  and  in  the  decalogue? 
ALONZO.     Distract  me  not  with  thy  pale  cast 

Of  thought :  what  man  art  thou, 

And  where  thy  cash? 

STRANGER.     I  am  the  Buck  of  Duke-ing-ham; 

I'm  fighting  Ingalls  every  day, 

I'm  fighting  Ingalls  every  way. 
ALONZO.     Art  thou  a  farmer? 
STRANGER.     No,  I  am  an  agriculturist. 
ALONZO.     What  is  the  difference? 

STRANGER.     The  farmer  works  the  soil, 
The  agriculturist  works  the  farmer. 
Down  in  thy  bootleg  now  thy  cornknife  sheath, 
While  I  of  deep  damnation  tell  to  thee 
A  tale  of  misery  that  far  beneath 
That  of  thine  own  hath  happened  unto  me. 
Perhaps  you  know  me  by  my  late  biography  — 
I  am  the  author  of  that  late  Geography. 
I  wanted  to  collect  the  revenue. 
I  went  to  Atchison,  and  then  and  there 

201 


POLITICS 

I  stayed  with  Ingalls  for  a  week  or  two. 
He  put  in  Leland,  and  it  made  me  swear. 
Then  Ingalls  said,  in  words  that  seemed  so  real, 
"Dear  General,  won't  you  proceed  to  sheol." 
ALONZO.     Thy  tale  is  short,  and  yet  it  doth  un 
man  me. 

Thou  has  more  poetry  than  picayunes, 
More  spondees  than  spondulics   — 
Pass  on  thy  way  —  pass  on  —  thou  need'st  not 
Ante,  for  in  the  game  of  life  none 
But  the  dealers  ante. 

[Exit  stranger. ~\ 

The  People's  Party,  to 

Which  me  native  instinct  draws  me  because  it 
Loves  the  rule  of  mediocrity,  is  now  on  top.     I 
Love  the  rule  of  Ignorance.     I  love  to  see  a 

granger 
Who  doesn't  know  a  pine  refrigerator  from  a 

legal 
Maxim,   discourse   on   finance,   whittling   on   a 

store  box. 

[Enter  stranger.'] 

ALONZO.     What,  hoe  !    Stand  and  deliver. 
STRANGER.     Who  art  thou?     Speak! 
ALONZO.     I  am  a  Bandit.    Disgorge. 
STRANGER.     I  also  am  a  kind  of  Bandit.    I  run 
An  anti-Ingalls  newspaper.    I  have  no  cash. 

202 


POLITICS 

I  take  up  a  collection  as  I  go,  to  pay 

My  operating  expenses  —  including  my 

Fixed  charges. 
ALONZO.    Thou  dost  prevaricate.    Thou  are  not  an 

Editor  of  the  People's  Party.    Thou  hast 

On  a  clean  shirt. 
STRANGER.     But  a  dirty  undershirt  —  an  awful 

dirty  one. 
ALONZO.     'Tis  well  —  but  then  —  I  want  no  shirt. 

Wealth  must  I  have  —  disgorge. 
STRANGER.     I  have  no  wealth. 
ALONZO.     "What  hast  thou,  then? 
STRANGER.     I  have  intellect  —  lately  discovered — 

But  still  I've  got  it. 
ALONZO.    All  that  thou  needst  is  thy 

Cere-bellum  in  these  post-bellum  days. 

A  howler  of  calamity, 
He  needs  no  brains,  for  damit  'e, 
Can  work  on  cheek  and  vanity, 
Big  whiskers  and  inanity. 
[Exit  Stranger."] 

ALONZO.     Ha!    I'll  let  him  go. 
I  love  calamity.    I  love  to  howl  it 
And  to  hear  it  howled. 

[Enter  lawyer.'] 
ALONZO.    Pause!    Gold  or  gore. 
203 

-14 


POLITICS 

LAWYER.     I  defy  thee. 
ALONZO.    Defy  me  not. 

My  motto: 

Coin  or  Carnage. 

LAWYER.     I  am  a  lawyer,  and  I  stand  undaunted. 
Art  thy  name  Alonzo? 

ALONZO.    It  art,  but  thine  the  duty  not  to  stand  a 
Gasing,  but  aghast.    Eliminate  thy  wealth. 

I  cannot  stand  and  dicker 

Now  with  thee, 
But  with  a  snicker 

Draw  my  snickersnee. 

LAWYER.     Thou  art  of  no  more  force  than  a  last 
Year's  chattel  mortgage. 

Alonzo,  dost  remember  erst- 
While  before  a  Bourbon  county  jury  when  Jim, 
"With  Ciceronian  voice  and  gesture,  thee  of  mule 
Abduction  did  accuse,  and  prove  it  by  some 
Dozen  witnesses,  although  thou  sworest  thou 

wert 
In  Emporia?    And  reckest  thou  not  how  thou 

thy 

Grip  didst  lose,  and  how,  with  white  lips,  thou 
Saidst — "Save  me  from  hard  labor,"  until  I 

told 

Thee  that  I  had  Jim  foul  ?    And  dost  thou  not 
Kemember  how  that  jury  had  been  carefully 

204 


POLITICS 

Selected  from  sympathetic  granger  statesmen 

who 

Only  read  the  "Union  Labor"  papers,  and  how 
With  brilliant  panegyric  I  thy  honest  brow 
Applauded,  and  how  I  called  thee  a  hard-fisted 
Yeoman  —  victim,  I  said,  of  prostrate  labor  and 
Contraction,  seeking  for  bread  amid  the  ruins  of 
Chaotic  finance, —  victim,  I  said,  of  insufficient 
Circulation,  buffeted  by  rent  and  sleepless 

usury. 

How  with  quixotic  rhetoric  I  did  fight  the  gilded 
Vampires  in  the  ambient  ether,  and  how  that 
Granger  jury  was  so  polly-foxed  that  they  did 
Find  a  verdict  of  "not  guilty"? 

ALONZO.     'Tis  true  —  pass  on  —  but  stay.     Hast 
Thou  the  due-bill  that  I  gave  thee  for  thy 
Effort? 

LAWYER.     I  have-est.    Behold  it! 

ALONZO.     I  know  thou  hast  no  money. 
Still  I  can't 

Do  business  here  for  nothing. 
I  now 

Take  hold  and  freeze  onto  this  due-bill. 
(Takes  bill.)    Git! 

[Exit  lawyer.'] 

He's  gone. —  Behold,  the  sun  is  slowly  setting. 
Why  did  I  take  this  note?    It's  only  "fiat/ 

It  isn't  worth  the  trouble  of  the  getting. 
I  can't  hypothecate  the  thing  for  diet. 
205 


>  ? 


POLITICS 

But  it  is  good.    The  penmanship's  proficient — 
It  must  be  good  —  the  paper's  white  and  tough. 

"Due  on  demand" — that  ought  to  be 

sufficient, 
And  certainly  the  sum  is  large  enough; 

And  why  the  thing  won 't  buy  a  loaf  of  bread 
Is  a  conundrum  that  just  knocks  me  dead. 

It  seems  to  me  that  borrower  and  lender 
Have  neither  rights  the  other  should  respect  — 

That  each  man's  note  should  be  a  legal  tender, 
Abolishing  all  methods  to  collect. 

Yet,  'mid  all  this  calamity,  there's  Ingalls  — 
What  hath  he  done  for  Kansas  ?    He  doth  flaunt 
His  brains  around,  and  with  the  nation 

mingles, — 

But  it  is  cash,  not  brains,  the  people  want. 
Down,  down  with  Ingalls!  brains  don't 

represent 
The  people  now  in  Kansas  worth  a  cent. 

[Tears  up  the  note  and  throws  it  away.] 

The  sun  has  set.    The  road  no  victim  offers. 
I'm  catching  cold.    Business  is  awful  dull. 

[A  barefooted  person,  with  spectacles,  is  seen 
coming.'] 

ALONZO.     Halt !    Who  comes  there  ?    Art  thou  a 
Moundbuilder,  or  a  Troubadour? 

206 


POLITICS 

STRANGER.     I  am  a  friend  with  the  countersign. 

ALONZO.     Advance,  friend,  and  give  the 
Countersign. 

STRANGER.     Down  with  Ingalls. 

ALONZO.     The  sentiment  thou  hast,  but  not  the 
Words.     The  words  are:     Soc  ET  TUUM. 
As  Elder  says, — "them  words  is  Latten." 

STRANGER.    Sock  me  no  socks.    Did  not  I  upon 
The  field  of  battle  meet  Prince  Hal.  ? 
Where  now  is  Hal.?    In  those  pathetic 
Words  of  poetess :    * '  The  bark  that  held  the 
Prince  peeled  off."    When  the  7th  Dist. 
Did  my  sockless  fibula  behold,  they  yelled 
For  me,  and  it  was  good-bye  Hal.    I  know 
These  people.    Brains  they  do  not  want, 
For  if  they  did,  I'd  give  it  to  them. 
Hal.  did  not  know  what  beat  him  — 'Twas 
Lack  of  moisture  in  the  atmosphere.    He 
Was  the  victim  of  climatic  scarcity.    My 
District  expects  me  to  produce  territorial 
Humidity,  and  divide  the  rain-belt  with 
the  sea-board  States.    Ingalls  could  not 
Accomplish  it.    He  therefore  failed  to  be  a 
Statesman.    What  has  he  done  for  Kansas? 
All  she  needs  is  rain.    She  having  rain 
Has  grain,  and  having  grain  had  Ingalls. 
He  could  not  make  it  rain,  hence  naught 
For  Kansas  had  he  done.    Of  course  he 

207 


POLITICS 

Made  some  reputation  for  himself  and 

State,  and  all  the  Union  rang  with  Kansas 

And  with  Ingalls.    And  in  the  Senate, 

Leaning  up  against  his  own  backbone,  he 

Sat  and  ruled  most  royally,  as  to  the 

Intellectual  purple  born.    But  still  he 

Couldn't  make  it  rain,  and  now  we've  got 

Him  down! 

As  to  the  earth  the  royal  rain  falls, 

We'll  jeer  at  Ingalls.. — Accent  on  the  "galls". 

[He  passes  on.] 
[ALONZO,  frightened.'] 
Ha !    What  is  that  coming  up  the  road  ? 
It  has  a  most  peculiar  aspect. 
I'll  speak  to  it.    What  art  thou? 
An  adverb? 

THING.     No.    A  high  moral  plane. 

ALONZO.     Thou  art  a  strange  thing.    Thy  object? 

H.  M.  P.     The  object  of  a  high  moral  plane  is  to 
Get  a  reputation  for  being  better  than  any 
Other  thing.    Not  to  be  better,  but  to  get  the 
Reputation.    Climb  on;  our  object  is  to  purify 
Politics  by  running  it  ourselves.    To  banish 
"Iridescent  dreams."    To  take  up  prohibition, 
Female  suffrage  and  the  so-called  "moral"  isms 
That  we  can  handle.    We  stuck  a  man  in 
Wichita  for  selling  beer  one  afternoon 
Seventy  years  in  jail,  with  27,000  dollars  fine. 

208 


POLITICS 

We  're  down  on  Ingalls  for  another  reason  — 
He's  an  agnostic  and  blasphemer.    His 
Speeches  show  he  don't  believe  that  there's 
Another  happy  world  where  he  can  go  and 
Live  forever  with  us  moralists.    Then 
He  is  vain,  and  vanity  is  what  high  moral 
Planes  abhor.    He  lacks  that 
Element  of  Christian  humility  that  should 
Say  unto  the  nearest  Presiding  Elder  —  thy 
Will  in  politics,  not  mine,  be  done.    We 
Think  morality  requires  a  change,  and  that 
His  vanity  should  be  let  down.    We  think 
That  on  the  tombstone  of  his  politics  the 
Epitaph  should  be: 

UP  WAS  HE  STUCK, 
AND  IN  THE  VERY  UPNESS 
OF  HIS  STUCKTITUDE 
HE  FELL. 

\H.  M.  P.  passes  on.] 

ALONZO.     I  don't  believe  I  want  to  climb 
Up  on  that  thing.    It  holds  a  tough-looking 
But  congenial  crowd.    Prohibition  was 
Once  the  thing  to  win  with,  but  it  ain't  so 
Any  more.    Calamity  is  what  now  goes. 
Prohibition  is  now  the  last  hope  which 
Weak  minds  have  for  getting  into  office. 
But  where's  my  cash  upon  this  lonesome 

209 


POLITICS 

Road  ?    There 's  no  free  silver. —  Ho ! 
Who  comes  here,  in  the  twilight  gloom? 

STRANGER.     A  "noble  granger,"  who  with  lung 
Voluminous  would  fain  be  heard.    My 
Name  is  Calamity  Bill.     I  have  a  way  of 
Beating  mortgages. 

ALONZO.     Art  thou  armed? 

STRANGER.     Yes  —  with  campaign  documents. 

ALONZO.     If  thou  hast  any  gold  or  silver,  extract 
It  from  thy  clothing.    I  am  a  hard-money 
Bandit.    My  demands  are  now  payable  in  coin. 

STRANGER.     I  have  none. 

ALONZO.     Greenbacks  or  national-bank  notes  ? 

STRANGER.     None. 

ALONZO.     Bonds,  coupons,  or  silver  certificates? 

STRANGER.     None. 

ALONZO.     Notes,  mortgages,  securities? 

STRANGER.     None. 

ALONZO.     Checks,  drafts,  bills  of  lading,  or 

Negotiable  paper? 
STRANGER.     None. 

ALONZO.     Hast  anything  within  thy  pockets  ? 
STRANGER.     Only  tobacco. 
ALONZO.     Fine-cut  or  plug? 
STRANGER.     Plug. 

210 


POLITICS 

ALONZO.  I  chew  not  plug. 
Hast  thou  good  clothes? 
It's  dark  —  I  cannot  see. 

STRANGER.     I  have  at  home,  not  here. 
Intending  to  address  the  sturdy 
Yeomanry  and  whoop  them  up  from  an 
Industrial  standpoint,  I  this  night  did  don 
A  suit  of  jeans  for  the  occasion,  such 
As  I  husk  corn  in. 

ALONZO.     Art  thy  boots  good? 

STRANGER.     Out  at  the  toes  and  minus  soles. 
I  borrowed  them. 

ALONZO.     Thy  hat? 

STRANGER.     I  punched  a  hole  a  few  yards  back, 
And  through  the  crown  a  matted  lock 
I  pulled.    It's  gayly  waving  through 
The  orifice,  although  thou  seest  it  not. 
I  had  to-night  intended  to  explain 
Unto  the  bone  and  sinew  of  our  country 
How  Sherman  and  McKinley  of  a  wealthy 
People  made  a  nation  full  of  paupers. 
How  the  Government  should  issue 
Money  at  one  per  cent,  on  farms,  and 
Should  build  vast  warehouses,  wherein 
The  products  of  the  country  can  be  stored 
And  chattel-mortgaged  to  the  Government. 
And  how  the  way  to  make  a  dollar  is 

211 


POLITICS 

To  stamp  a  piece  of  paper  and  then 
Call  it  one.    Language,  not  cash, 
Is  all  I  have  just  now. 

ALONZO.     Condemn  the  luck!    There  is 
No  scope  for  honest  labor.    Every  avenue 
Is  walled.    See 

The  depression  that  me  present  business 
Now  endures.    Oh,  desperation!    Say! 
See  here.    I  must  make  business  lively. 
I  cannot  wait  the  slow  and  tedious 
Restoration  of  those  days  when  no  man 
Worked  yet  everything  was  had. 
Prepare  for  death!    I  think  that  1  can  turn 
An  honest  penny  by  finding  thee  when 
A  reward  is  offered.    If  all  were  idle, 
Business  won't  revive.    Something 
Accomplished,  something  done,  must  earn 
A  night's  repose.    I  have  within  my  heart 
Hot  cells  — 

STRANGER.     Shut  up  !    Hear  me,  thou  victim 
Of  commercial  chaos. —  Down  at 
A  school-house  there  expectant  waits 
A  Union  Labor  and  Alliance  caucus. 
The  F.  M.  B.'s  are  coming  in,  and  we 
Will  talk  of  Ingalls  and  of  money, 
Ocala,  and  the  platform  of  St.  Louis. 
I  go  to  tell  how  laws  must  needs  be 
Most  unjust  that  will  not  let  a 

212 


POLITICS 

Person  beat  a  creditor.    I  have 
A  money  scheme,  most  noble  Bandit, 
That  beats  two  of  yours.    I  can  rob  more 
Men  in  fifteen  minutes  than  you  can  in  years. 
With  dangers  yours  is  fraught,  with  mine 
Is  none.    Shall  I  reveal? 

ALONZO.    Go  on. 

STRANGER.     Thy  style  is  antiquated.    Men  with 
Views  like  yours  both  schemes  have  tried, 
And  the  reflecting  light  of  his 'try  hath 
Taught  that  one  can  rob  more  people  ten 
To  one  by  the  new  process  than  the  old. 
First. —  Ingalls  must  be  beaten.    In  his  stead 
A  man  of  the  Alliance  must  be  placed,  here 
And  elsewhere  —  a  man  of  hair.    We  must 
Have  Peffer  or  a  mattress.    Then  we  will 
Take  the  printing-presses,  and  make  money, 
Loan  to  farmers  at  a  nominal  per  cent,  on 
Land  by  farmers  valued.    Make  the  money 
Legal  tender,  then  we'll  scoop  'em  in. 
When  once  we  get  the  timid,  invalid  and 
Weak  to  lose  their  faith  in  a  metallic 
Currency,  we've  got  'em.    They  are  left. 
We  cannot  reach  the  man  who  pins 
His  faith  to  coin,  except  to  blackguard  him, 
And  then  he  only  laughs.    But  the  great 
Masses  with  our  doctrine  stuffed,  under 
Delusion  give  us  property  for  paper.    Of 

213 


POLITICS 

Honesty  it  hath  a  certain  glamour.    "We 
Hold  the  truck  the  paper  represents. 
They  hold  the  paper,  waiting  its  redeemer, 
Like  Job  of  old  did  his,  till  time  hath 
Worn  them  out  and  made  them  toss  the 
Sponge.     Thy  name  would  give  addition 
To  our  ranks.    Come,  go  with  me  and 
Make  thine  opening  exhortation.    Be  no 
Longer  a  Dime  Novel  Bandit,  clad  in  plume 
And  bootlegs. —  But  —  shout  * '  Calamity. ' ' 

[Tableaux. — ALONZO  seen  struggling  with  his 
conscience;  at  last  he  yields,  and  speaks.} 

This  recent  scheme,  I  hardly  understand  it ; 
There 's  much  more  to  it  than  I  first  surmised. 

It  must  commend  itself  to  any  bandit, 
Although,  perhaps,  it's  somewhat  civilized. 

But  it's  deficient  in  one  thing  I  prize  — 
To  wit:  a  healthy  outdoor  exercise. 

Here  in  the  raging  Paint  my  blade  I  throw, 
And  to  the  anti-Ingalls  caucus  go. 

Let's  howl  sub-treasury  —  free  cash  —  and 

Peffer; 

Let's  go  back  on  our  mortgages  —  of  course  — 
While  through  our  statesman's  whiskers  the 

wild  zephyr, 
The  Kansas  zephyr,  skips  with  solemn  force. 

214 


POLITICS 

We'll  down  'em,  and  we'll  keep  'em  down, 

that's  plain; 
We'll  keep  'em  down  as  long  as  it  don't  rain. 

With  flashing  speed  the  pulse  of  evening 

tingles, 

Lo!  in  the  East  comes  the  ''free-silver"  moon; 
Come  on,  come  on  —  we'll  whoop  it  up  to 

Ingalls. 
We  are  all  statesmen  —  let  us  all  reune ; 

To  this  Alliance  caucus  let  us  go. 
Ha !  Ingalls,  ha !  thou  meet  'st  thy  overthrow. 


215 


MISCELLANY 


MISCELLANY 

JOHN  JAMES  INGALLS.  The  first-born  of  Elias 
Theodore  Ingalls  and  his  wife  Eliza  Chase. 

Of  Puritan  ancestry. 

Born  at  Middletown,  Massachusetts,  December 
29,  1833. 

Was  United  States  Senator  from  Kansas  eigh 
teen  years  — from  1873  to  1891. 

Died  of  bronchitis,  at  Las  Vegas,  New  Mexico, 
August  16,  1900.  Is  buried  at  Atchison. 

Statue  placed  in  Hall  of  Fame,  Washington,  by 
act  of  the  Kansas  Legislature. 


Ingalls  was  fond  of  walking.  He  loved  to  wan 
der  solitary  and  alone.  About  Atchison  he 
strolled  over  prairies,  along  bluffs,  through  fields, 
under  the  trees  of  forest  and  orchard. 

When  he  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Senate 
Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  he  walked 
about  Washington  constantly,  and  made  himself 
familiar  with  its  every  feature  and  want. 


Ingalls  wrote  the  Kansas  Magazine   articles 
219 


-15 


MISCELLANY 

in  his  home  on  a  small  table  ki  the  living-room. 
The  children  were  all  about  him,  but  seemed  not 
to  annoy  him  or  distract  his  attention.  He  wrote 
slowly  —  that  is,  composed  slowly.  Mrs.  Ingalls 
says  he  il wrote  and  tore  up"  his  articles  until 
they  conformed  to  the  requirements  of  his  exact 
and  discriminating  taste. 

One  competent  to  speak  said  of  Ingalls: 

He  knew  language  as  the  devout  Moslem  knows 
his  Koran.  All  the  deeps  and  shallows  of  the 
sea  of  words  were  sounded  and  surveyed  by  him 
and  duly  marked  upon  the  chart  of  his  great 
mentality.  In  the  presence  of  an  audience  he 
was  a  magician;  under  the  power  of  his  magic, 
syllables  became  scorpions  —  an  inflection  became 
an  indictment.  And  with  words  he  builded 
temples  of  thought  that  excited  at  first  the  won 
der  and  at  all  times  the  admiration  of  the  world 
of  literature  and  statesmanship.  He  was  emperor 
in  the  realm  of  expression. 


That  Ingalls  was  an  acute  observer  of  men 
and  events  is  shown  by  his  analysis  of  the  char 
acter  of  the  Kansas  man: 

It  has  been  sometimes  obscurely  intimated  that 
the  typical  Kansan  lacks  in  reserve,  and  occasion- 

220 


MISCELLANY 

ally  exhibits  a  tendency  to  exaggeration  in  dwell 
ing  upon  the  development  of  the  state  and  the 
benefits  and  burdens  of  its  citizenship.  Censor 
ious  scoffers,  actuated  by  envy,  jealousy,  malig 
nity,  and  other  evil  passions,  have  intimated  that 
he  unduly  vaunteth  himself;  that  he  brags  and 
becomes  vainglorious ;  that  he  is  given  to  bounce, 
tall  talk,  and  magniloquence. 

There  have  not  been  wanting  those  who  affirm 
that  he  magnifies  his  calamities  as  well  as  his 
blessings,  and  desires  nothing  so  much  as  to  have 
the  name  of  Kansas  in  any  capacity  in  the  ears 
and  mouths  of  men. 

Such  accusations  are  well  calculated  to  make 
the  judicious  grieve.  They  result  from  a  mis 
conception  of  the  man  and  his  environment. 

The  normal  condition  of  the  genuine  Kansan  is 
that  of  shy  and  sensitive  diffidence.  He  suffers 
from  excess  of  modesty.  He  blushes  too  easily. 
There  is  nothing  he  dislikes  so  much  as  to  hear 
himself  talk.  He  hides  his  light  under  a  bushel. 
He  keeps  as  near  the  tail-end  of  the  procession  as 
possible.  He  never  advertises.  He  bloweth  not 
his  own  horn,  and  is  indifferent  to  the  band 
wagon. 

Ingalls  was  epigramattic.  He  said  of  Garland, 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  under 
Cleveland:  ''General  Garland  is  a  great  lawyer 

221 


MISCELLANY 

among  Arkansaw  men  and  a-  great  Arkansaw 
man  among  lawyers." 

Describing  his  impressions  of  the  Missouri 
River  on  his  journey  to  settle  in  Kansas  he  said 
the  steamboat  was  days  and  days  ascending  to 
Sumner,  and  that  he  was  always  in  sight  of  tall 
cottonwoods  and  broad  sandbars  on  one  side  of 
the  river,  or  broad  sandbars  and  tall  cottonwoods 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 

He  could  descend  from  the  stars  and  manifest 
interest  in  the  most  trivial  household  affairs.  He 
had  a  clever  turn,  and  in  the  first  years  of  his 
home-life  often  mended  gates  and  the  sidewalk. 
With  hammer  and  saw  he  constructed  about  the 
house  convenient  shelves  and  corners.  And  he 
was  no  indifferent  workman. 

At  home  he  always  blacked  his  own  boots. 


He  would  contemplate  the  valley  of  the  Mis 
souri  for  hours  at  a  time.  He  seemed  never  to 
tire  of  the  view.  He  studied  the  moods  of  the 
river,  and  days  of  bluster  when  sand-clouds 
drifted  over  it,  it  had  a  fascination  for  him.  His 
first  home  was  on  a  bluff  in  South  Atchison  com 
manding  an  extensive  view  of  river,  bottoms  and 

222 


MISCELLANY 

bluffs.     Standing  by  this  old  house  in  after  life, 
he  wrote  this  idyl: 

Was  it  on  this  planet  we  lived  alone,  and  loved 
in  youth's  enchanted  kingdom  amid  the  forests 
and  by  the  great  lonely  river,  looking  with  min 
gled  gaze  at  the  eastern  bluffs  purpled  by  the 
autumnal  sunset,  or  at  the  face  of  the  moon 
climbing  with  sad  steps  the  midnight  sky ;  or  was 
it  on  some  remote  star  in  some  other  life,  recalled 
with  rapture  and  longing  unutterable  and  un 
availing? 

"Oh,   death   in   life;    the   days   that   are   no  more!" 

The  crumbling  excavation  scarce  discernible 
among  the  vines  and  weeds  and  brambles,  de 
serted  and  inaccessible,  ancient  as  Palmyra  or 
Persepolis  in  seeming  —  was  this  the  theatre 
whereon  was  enacted  the  intoxicating  drama,  the 
sweet  tragedy  of  human  passion,  grief,  joy,  and 
endless  separation?  Since  then,  what  devious 
wanderings  of  the  soul,  what  darkened  vistas, 
what  trepidation,  what  struggle  and  solace,  what 
achievements  and  defeat  —  what  splendor  and 
wrhat  gloom!  The  river  flows,  and  the  landscape 
is  unchanged.  Nature  mocks  with  her  perma 
nence  the  mutability  of  man ;  and  the  steadfast 
presence  recalling  life's  vanished  glory  and  bloom 
and  dew  of  morning  —  how  worthless  and  empty 
appear  all  that  time  gives,  compared  with  what 

223 


MISCELLANY 

it  takes  away!  How  gladly  wpuld  we  exchange 
the  prizes  of  ambition  and  fame  and  wealth  for 
the  splendid  consecration  of  youth  and  — 

"Wild  with  all  regret  —  the  days  that  are  no  more". 


Ingalls  loved  red  as  a  color  in  his  apparel. 
His  flaming  red  ties  became  famous  in  Kansas; 
they  were  frequently  a  brilliant  scarlet.  In  the 
days  of  his  first  residence  in  Atchison  it  was  fash 
ionable  for  men  to  wear  in  winter  very  heavy 
shawls.  Ingalls  exhibited  his  individuality  and 
gratified  his  taste  by  wearing  a  red  and  gleaming 
blanket. 

He  liked  to  be  droll,  even  eccentric  and  gro 
tesque,  on  occasion.  In  the  last  days  of  his  resi 
dence  at  Sumner  he  arrayed  himself  in  a  long 
linen  duster,  reaching  to  his  heels.  He  stretched 
his  enormous  straw  hat  upward  into  a  long  peak. 
He  was  very  tall  and  extremely  slender,  anyway, 
and  thus  clad  he  seemed  of  extraordinary  height. 


It  was,  sometimes,  with  difficulty  that  Ingalls 
could  be  prevailed  on  to  deliver  his  addresses 
and  orations.  Once  he  was  to  address  some  gath 
ering  in  the  East.  He  made  excuses  for  remain- 

224 


MISCELLANY 

ing  at  home,  but  Mrs.  Ingalls  insisted  that  he 
should  go.  On  the  day  he  should  have  appeared 
before  his  audience  she  heard  from  him  at  St. 
Louis,  where  he  said  he  was  ill.  In  a  few  days 
he  returned  home,  having  cancelled  his  engage 
ments.  Mrs.  Ingalls  could  not  discover  that  he 
was  ill,  and  was  certain  that  his  course  resulted 
from  reluctance  to  then  go  on  with  his  work. 

This  may  have  been  in  some  degree  due  to  his 
horror  of  speaking  in  public.  On  one  occasion  his 
fright  was  so  great  that  he  could  not  proceed  with 
an  address,  and  he  had  to  stop  and  admit  his 
failure.  I  have  Ware's  account  of  it.  As  the 
hour  for  the  meeting  approached  Ingalls  became 
more  and  more  perturbed.  He  requested  that 
Ware  speak  first.  Ware  agreed  to  speak  five 
minutes.  Ingalls  urged  him  to  make  it  fifteen 
minutes  —  then  an  hour.  Ware  spoke  thirty  min 
utes.  When  Ingalls  rose  cold  perspiration  beaded 
his  forehead.  He  stammered  and  halted  and 
blundered  for  fifteen  minutes,  then  quit.  Years 
after,  in  a  letter  to  Ware,  he  recalled  the  incident : 

I  am  glad  to  know  that  I  have  established  any 
claim  to  the  good  will  of  the  people  of  Fort  Scott. 
I  have  not  hitherto  been  able  to  disguise  from 

225 


MISCELLANY 

myself  the  fact  that  I  had  few  friends  in  that 
locality.  I  tried  to  make  a  speech  there  once, 
but  the  reception  I  met  with  "froze  the  genial 
currents  of  my  soul!"  It  gives  me  the  rigors  to 
recall  that  polar  evening.  A  declamation  from 
the  apex  of  an  iceberg  in  the  silence  of  an  arctic 
midnight,  would  have  been  hilarious  midsummer 
bacchanalian  revelry  by  comparison. 

His  frigid  reception  was  altogether  an  illusion. 
Ware  stopped  talking  for  the  reason  that  the 
audience  was  impatient  and  eager  to  hear  Ingalls 
Another  illusion  was  manifest,  for  Ingalls  had 
many  friends  in  Fort  Scott, —  warm  and  faithful 
friends  whose  devotion  has  outlived  the  tomb. 
But  remarkable  delusions  come  to  men  of  genius. 


The  feud  between  Ingalls  and  Cleveland  was 
not  of  the  President's  seeking.  He  had,  in  fact, 
counted  on  a  sort  of  alliance  with  Ingalls.  Of  this 
intention  the  Senator  had  no  intimation,  and  he 
was  vitriolic  in  his  references  to  the  new  incum 
bent  of  the  White  House  and  his  administration. 

Justice  Field  was  a  Democrat.  Ingalls  was  a 
member  of  the  Senate  Judiciary  Committee.  By 
that  maze  of  formal  social  precedents  known  as 
official  etiquette  in  Washington,  Mrs.  Ingalls  sat 

226 


MISCELLANY 

beside  Justice  Field  at  White  House  dinners  for 
years.  Her  daughter  Marion  was  so  disgusted 
with  the  failure  of  the  Republican  party  to  nomi 
nate  Arthur  for  President  that  she  avowed  herself 
a  Democrat,  which  avowal  she  steadily  held  to. 
At  a  dinner  given  soon  after  the  inauguration  of 
Cleveland,  Mrs.  Ingalls  mentioned  this  fact  to 
Justice  Field.  So  remarkable  did  he  consider  it 
that  he,  later  in  the  evening,  informed  the  Presi 
dent,  who  went  at  once  to  Mrs.  Ingalls  and  re 
quested  her  to  bring  her  Democratic  daughter  to 
see  him  at  the  White  House. 

Within  a  fortnight  Mrs.  Ingalls,  in  her  daily 
drive  about  the  city,  passed  the  White  House. 
Marion  —  then  but  a  child  —  was  with  her,  and 
it  occurred  to  Mrs.  Ingalls  to  stop  and  see  the 
President. 

Cleveland  was  beset  with  many  difficulties  in 
getting  his  administration  under  way.  He  had 
little  knowledge  of  the  details  of  executive  usage. 
The  hungry  and  thirsty  spoilsmen  besieged  him. 
He  did  not  know  whom  to  trust,  and  he  reviewed 
all  applications  for  office  himself.  This  required 
much  time,  to  secure  which  he  excluded  all  callers 
during  some  hours  other  Presidents  had  been  ac- 


MISCELLANY 

cessible  to  the  public.  When  Mrs.  Ingalls  ap 
peared  in  the  reception-room  sne  was  told  that 
she  could  not  see  the  President  at  that  hour.  She, 
however,  added  "and  Marion"  to  the  inscription 
on  her  card  and  had  it  carried  to  the  President 
who  directed  that  she  be  admitted  at  once,  Mr. 
Cleveland  met  her  cordially  and  expressed  pleas 
ure  at  seeing  someone  who  did  not  come  seeking 
an  office.  He  was  delighted  to  see  Marion,  en 
gaged  her  in  conversation,  gave  her  flowers,  and 
inquired  who  had  given  her  her  beautiful  name. 
To  this  question  she  replied  by  naming  the  Ingalls 
family  physician  at  Atchison.  "Why",  said  the 
President,  "he  is  one  of  the  fellows  wanting  to 
be  postmaster  there."  Mrs.  Ingalls  was  surprised 
at  what  he  said,  thinking  it  wonderful  that  in 
such  short  time  he  had  so  familiarized  himself 
with  affairs  as  to  be  able  to  recognize  an  applicant 
for  postmaster  in  a  country  village  upon  the  mere 
mention  of  his  name  by  a  child.  This  introduced 
the  subject  of  patronage,  and  Mr.  Cleveland  men 
tioned  the  embarrasment  under  which  he  was 
laboring.  He  wished  to  appoint  only  the  best 
men,  but  he  knew  that  political  endorsements  did 
not  usually  fall  to  the  best  men.  He  spoke  kindly 

228 


MISCELLANY 

of  Senator  In  galls,  and  Mrs.  Ingalls  knew  when 
she  left  that  he  would  not  be  averse  to  having  the 
judgment  of  her  husband  on  the  applications  for 
office  from  Kansas.  When  she  went  home  she 
learned  that  he  had  that  day  spoken  with  such 
bitterness  of  the  new  President  and  his  adminis 
tration  that  no  such  relation  as  had  been  sug 
gested  by  Mr.  Cleveland  could  ever  be  possible. 

Ill-feeling  between  these  two  great  men  in 
creased  from  that  day  and  grew  into  one  of  the 
most  famous  and  most  bitter  official  feuds  in  the 
history  of  our  government. 


Mrs.  Ingalls  was  in  the  galleries  and  heard  the 
famous  passage  at  arms  between  her  husband  and 
Senator  Voorhees.  She  saw  the  tall  Hoosier  led 
vanquished  from  the  Senate  chamber.  Later  she 
and  a  party  of  friends  went  into  the  Senate  res 
taurant  and  ordered  refreshments,  and  sent  for 
Ingalls  but  were  told  that  the  Senate  had  ad 
journed  and  that  the  Senator  had  gone  immed 
iately  home. 


The    extreme   bitterness    between    Ingalls   and 
Chief-Justice  Horton  as  a  result  of  the  contest  of 


MISCELLANY 

the  second  election  was  a  feature  in  Kansas  poli- 

41 

tics  for  years.  But  these  two  great  Kansans 
were  brought  to  a  reconciliation  through  the 
efforts  of  Bailie  P.  Waggener,  the  friend  of  both. 
The  meeting  was  in  the  office  of  "Waggener  in 
Atchison.  It  had  been  previously  arranged,  and 
was  set  for  a  late  hour  in  the  evening.  Horton 
arrived  promptly,  but  Ingalls  was  late  by  a  quar 
ter  of  an  hour,  as  was  his  habit.  He  came  in  with 
an  apology  for  his  tardiness.  He  was  faultlessly 
attired  and  perfectly  composed.  When  he  en 
tered  the  room  Waggener  said  that  he  supposed 
they  would  prefer  to  be  alone  and  offered  to 
withdraw,  but  was  urged  to  remain  by  both, 
which  he  did. 

Ingalls  began  the  advances  necessary  to  the 
matter  by  saying  that  he  regretted  the  famous 
Atchison  speech  more  than  he  could  tell.  Horton 
came  forward  with  words  of  apology  for  his 
course.  Amends  were  made  and  perfect  harmony 
secured  before  midnight.  Of  this  event  very  few 
people  were  ever  informed.  Horton  and  Ingalls 
had  been  associated  a  long  time  in  the  publication 
of  the  "Atchison  Champion"  in  the  absence  of 
John  A.  Martin,  the  proprietor,  in  the  army. 

230 


MISCELLANY 

Bailie  P.  Waggener  is  one  of  the  foremost 
lawyers  of  the  "West.  He  is  General  Solicitor  for 
the  Missouri  Pacific  Railway,  in  the  service  of 
which  he  has  been  for  many  years.  He  is  a  Demo 
crat,  and  has  long  been  prominent  in  Kansas 
public  affairs.  As  State  Senator  from  Atchison 
County  he  secured  the  passage  of  a  bill  giving 
one  of  the  places  at  the  disposition  of  Kansas  in 
Statuary  Hall  at  "Washington  to  Ingalls;  also  an 
appropriation  to  pay  for  the  statue  of  the  famous 
Kansan.  This  statue  has  been  placed  in  the  Hall, 
and  it  is  by  far  the  finest  and  most  striking  to  be 
seen  there. 


Of  mountains,  Ingalls  said : 

What  an  immortal  fascination  there  is  about 
mountains !  Their  solemnity,  their  silence,  the 
grandeur  of  their  outlines,  the  unspeakable  glory 
of  their  lofty  crags  and  "snowy  summits  old  in 
story",  and  their  splendid  inutility! 

When  you  look  upon  the  vague  and  troubled 
immensity  of  the  ocean,  you  think  of  commerce 
and  codfish  and  whales.  When  you  contemplate 
the  grassy  waste  of  prairies,  expanding  to  the 
skies,  you  think  of  wheat  and  corn  and  pigs  and 
steers.  But  Pike's  Peak  and  Sierra  Blanca  and 
Trenchery  and  Culebra  and  the  Tetons  are  good 

231 


MISCELLANY 

for  nothing  except  adoration  atfd  worship.  Man 
does  not  profane  their  solitudes  where  the  un 
heard  voices  of  the  winds  in  the  forests,  of  waters 
falling  in  the  abyss,  and  the  eagle's  cry  have  no 
audience  nor  anniversary. 


And  of  the  sea  Ingalls  wrote: 

The  ancients  had  a  saying  that  those  who 
cross  the  sea  change  their  sky,  but  not  their 
minds, — "Qui  trans  mare  current  coelum  non 
animam  mutant".  No  man  can  escape  from 
himself.  The  companionship  is  inseparable. 

But  there  is  something  more  than  change  of 
locality  in  the  isolation  of  a  long  ocean  voyage. 
When  the  last  dim  headland  disappears,  and  the 
continent  vanishes  in  the  deep,  the  separation 
from  the  human  race  is  complete.  All  the  accus 
tomed  incidents  and  habits  of  life  are  suspended, 
and  those  who  are  assembled  in  that  casual 
society  might  be  the  solitary  survivors  of  man 
kind. 

Wars  and  catastrophes  and  bereavements  may 
shock  the  world,  but  here  they  are  unheard  and 
unknown.  Suns  rise  and  set  and  rise  again,  but 
the  great  ship  makes  no  apparent  progress.  She 
remains  the  centre  of  an  unchanging  circum 
ference.  The  vast  and  sombre  monotony  is  un 
broken.  Above  is  the  infinite  abyss  of  the  sky 

232 


MISCELLANY 

with  its  clouds  and  stars.  Beneath  is  the  infinite 
abyss  of  the  sea  with  its  winds  and  waves.  Some 
times  the  faint  phantom  of  a  sail  appears  above 
the  vague  fluctuating  horizon  and  silently  fades 
away,  or  a  stain  of  smoke  against  the  distant 
mist  discloses  the  pathway  of  some  remote  and 
unknown  tenant  of  the  solitude. 

The  moods  of  the  sea  are  endless,  but  it  has 
no  compassion.  It  glitters  in  the  sun,  but  its 
smile  is  cruel  and  relentless.  It  is  eager  to  de 
vour.  Its  forces  are  destructive.  Each  instant  is 
fraught  with  peril.  Its  agitation  is  incessant,  and 
it  lies  in  wait  to  engulf  and  destroy.  Resisting 
every  effort  to  subdue  its  obstacles,  when  its  baf 
fled  billows  are  cleft,  they  gather  in  the  ghastly 
wake,  and  rage  at  their  discomfiture. 

In  the  presence  of  this  implacable  enemy,  whose 
smiles  betray,  whose  voice  is  an  imprecation, 
whose  embrace  is  death,  meditation  becomes 
habitual  and  the  mind  changes  like  the  sky. 


In  the  famous  interview  on  politics,  Ingalls 
said: 

The  purification  of  politics  is  an  iridescent 
dream.  Government  is  force.  Politics  is  a  battle 
for  supremacy.  Parties  are  the  armies.  The 
Decalogue  and  the  Golden  Rule  have  no  place 
in  a  political  campaign.  The  object  is  success.  To 

233 


MISCELLANY 

defeat  the  antagonist  and  expel  the  party  in 
power  is  the  purpose.  The  Republicans  and  Dem 
ocrats  are  as  irreconcilably  opposed  to  each  other 
as  were  Grant  and  Lee  in  the  Wilderness.  They 
use  ballots  instead  of  guns,  but  the  struggle  is 
as  unrelenting  and  desperate  and  the  result 
sought  for  the  same.  In  war  it  is  lawful  to  de 
ceive  the  adversary,  to  hire  Hessians,  to  purchase 
mercenaries,  to  mutilate,  to  destroy.  The  com 
mander  who  lost  the  battle  through  the  activity 
of  his  moral  nature  would  be  the  derision  and 
jest  of  history.  This  modern  cant  about  the 
corruption  of  politics  is  fatiguing  in  the  extreme. 
It  proceeds  from  tea-custard  and  syllabub  dilet- 
tanteism  and  frivolous  sentimentalism. 


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